To see the world with different eyes
by RegalBelieverLP
Summary: Based on canon with OC. Liana works as a seamstress for her parents' landowner when a deal with the Dark One promises to change her life forever. As always, a deal with Rumpelstiltskin has unexpected consequences and Liana finds herself in his hands. Then, Cora gets into her life and with her, Regina. Liana falls in love but does Regina, too?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Once Upon A Time or any of its recognizable characters.

Rated T because of the events that I have planned for later chapters, might become M later. Specific warnings will come with every chapter if neeeded.

My first _Once upon a Time_ – FanFiction with Liana as additional character placed into the storyline we know – and since I can't keep stories short, this will get a longer one. I got the idea for the story already during the first season but only now I finally begin writing it down; it was based on my wish for Regina to find her happy ending after losing Daniel and I definitely don't support OutlawQueen so here's what I made of it. Please review.

 **1st Chapter:**

"Liana, are you still working on the dress for the countess? That should have been finished hours ago!" the master complained – as usual. Liana had never seen or witnessed that he was content with a piece she or any of the other girls had sewed. Over the years, she had gotten used to it and learned neither to try to fulfill his expectations – because that was impossible – nor to justify her work – because that was a waste of time.

"Yes, master", was all she said instead and kept sewing without even paying attention to her master's suspicious looks.

"The countess could be here any moment! What am I supposed to tell her when she can't pick up her dress because of you?"

 _That she shouldn't commission such an extravagant dress a day before the ball_ , Liana thought to herself but kept quiet. Instead she sped up her sewing in the ridiculous hope her master would stop scolding her for doing the best she could – he wouldn't. She had learned to ignore it and keep working as fast as she could.

The moment she pulled out the last needle that had fixated the multiple layers of fabric the countess stepped into the tailor shop. Liana made herself invisible – not literally, of course, but she made herself as small and thin as she could and tiptoed backwards through the room to the door in the backmost corner, which was so easily to overlook that no customer had ever seen her disappear through it. In the room that lay behind that door the other three seamstresses worked in silence, eager to finish the other orders to prevent being scolded for working too slow. Liana heard her master greet the countess fulsomely and subserviently and rolled her eyes before she continued to work on a simple yet elegant dress without exchanging a word with the other women.

While she measured, marked, cut and sewed the second sleeve she counted. She counted the years she would still be imprisoned in this tailor shop before her parents' debts were finally repaid and she could go home.

She would never forget the day of her fourteenth birthday when the tailor master had come to her home to take Liana away and make her work as one of his seamstresses so he would get his money back – one way or another. She would never forget how he had forced her into the carriage, how he wouldn't even let her say goodbye. She would never forget how her father stood in the door with tears in his eyes and watched his daughter be taken away from him. She would never forget how her mother ran after the carriage in the rain and begged her landowner to spare her only child until she fell into the mud.

That was the last time Liana had seen her parents; since then she had never left the tailor shop again – and that was a little over five years ago. For more than five years, she was already working for her parents' landowner – that was longer than any of the other workers – and still, it seemed like the time that lay ahead of her wouldn't grow less. Her parents' debts were almost paid but that didn't mean her work was done. Her master enjoyed to remind her that he had to add interest and the costs for housing and feeding her.

At that thought, Liana had to suppress the urge to scoff. She lived in a tiny room with only one bed she had to share with the other three girls and they got to eat whatever the tailor master and his wife intended to leave for them to eat. More often than not, it was nothing at all.

Liana's parents were only simple farmers who never had much but they always took good care of Liana, provided enough food and a good life. After a continuance of bad harvests, they couldn't earn enough money to survive so they burrowed some from their landowner, the tailor master, in order to be able to feed her. These debts were the reason Liana had to work for this man – presumably until the end of her life.

At that thought, Liana couldn't help but let out a sigh. But she just shook her head to make these thoughts go away and reached for the scissors. She wanted to cut along the lines she had just drawn on the fabric when she heard her master's voice call out her name. She breathed out noisily, put the scissors aside again and stepped into the showroom again.

There was only one reason for her master to call her from work: a new customer and a new assignment – and Liana was supposed to take it. So Liana clothed her face in the friendliest smile she could manage and met the new customer with slight bow. In middle of her movements, she froze as she recognized the new customer as no one else than the Dark One.

In shock, she forgot to breathe for a moment before she remembered that this man – well, not quite a man – could be whoever he wanted to be, for her he was first and foremost her master's customer, which meant she had to serve him.

Liana bowed a little bit deeper than she usually would and maintained her position until the Dark One himself spoke: "Well, well, as I can see, my legend proceeds me. Excellent! But now, rise, dearie, I haven't got all day."

At the sound of his high-pitched, almost hysterical voice, Liana flinched but managed to raise up as the Dark One had requested. Her fear of this man in front of her must be written on her face for the Dark One grinned knowingly and demanded: "Come closer, dearie. There's no need to be afraid of me."

And just because he had said that, Liana was sure she had every right to be afraid. All the stories, people in the village told and she had little belief in, seemed to become a whole lot more possible in this very moment. He was truly one to fear.

But she took a deep breath, straightened up and stepped closer to the Dark One. The latter mustered her with a scrutinizing look that sent a shudder down her spine. She tried not to let her indisposition show but wasn't so sure if she could hide anything from the Dark One's eyes. He seemed to approve with what he saw since he laughed highly pleased, even if slightly hysterical, and turned to the master: "Oh, yes, she fits perfectly. Now leave us and let your girl do her work." With a quick wave of his hand, he dismissed him. The master, who was used to observe every move of his workers, wanted to disagree but the Dark One silenced him with a serious look and added even darker in tone: "I assume your girl knows her work perfectly well."

With a terrified look and hectic nods, the master left the room and her alone with the Dark One. When Liana realized her situation, she swallowed hard and needed a moment to gather herself, then she asked hesitatingly, "What is it you wish, my Lord?"

"My, my, dearie, what an absolute unnecessary question, don't you think? I need some new clothes", the Dark One replied in his high-pitched voice, which made her flinch again, and with an impish grin plastered on his face.

"Of course, my Lord, how stupid of me." With her eyes darted on the floor, she picked up the yardstick from the table and approached the Dark One to begin with the measuring.

The latter giggled and ever so slightly shook his head as if amused by something she did. Liana couldn't think of something for she was just doing her usual work so she paused, confused, and frowned at the man in front of her.

"That way, it takes far too long," he explained but Liana didn't understand. "Here, let me help you," he offered, which confused her even more.

With a simple flick of the Dark One's hand the yardstick flew out of her hand and towards the man in order to do her work for her.

Startled and scared, even though also a little bit fascinated, Liana watched the scene from a short distance but when the pen on the table also started to have a life of its own all of the sudden, she jumped back. Instinctively, she drew back from the magically moving objects but still couldn't avert her eyes from them. Mesmerized, she stared as the pen wrote over the parchment, leaving marks that looked a lot like figures and Liana assumed it were the measurements she needed to design new clothes for the Dark One. As the pen laid down in the exact same spot, she had placed it before Liana blinked a few times and shook her head, wondering if what she had just seen had really happened. But when she looked at the Dark One watching her with an impish grin plastered on his lips she knew it had.

"What was that?" she asked, a little too demandingly; her tone was not appropriate for a customer – but then again, was he a customer when he magically did the work for her?

"That, dearie, was magic. In its simplest form but nonetheless helpful, don't you think?"

"Why would you help me?"

"Because I do think you quite need it, dearie."

"What?" Liana let out before she could stop herself from it, but to believe that she needed the Dark One's help – for whatever reason that should be – and to think that the Dark One actually believed she would enlist his help was just incredible. The stories she had heard about him were equal to a good fairy tale gone bad. He was known and feared for his deals, high prices and cruel punishments for delayed payments. For all she knew making a deal with him was a decision doomed to be regretted.

"You need my help, dearie, and I must admit I need yours, too."

Liana furrowed her brows and mustered him, highly skeptical. "With what? Your clothes?" It was the only thing she could think of that she could do for the Dark One.

The latter giggled, highly amused, and asked, "Haven't you already got it, dearie? I didn't come here for some new clothes; I came here because I can give you what you want most."

 _He can't know what I want most_ , Liana wondered but before she could even voice her doubts, the Dark One continued, "I can give you your freedom."

Liana was taken aback, surprised and yearning for his words to be true but at the same time doubtful and suspicious. For too long she had hoped for the day of her freedom to come but it never did. Why should this time be any different? Yet, her curiosity remained so she asked carefully, "How do you know?"

"I just do," was the only explanation she got from the Dark One. "The only question that really concerns you, dearie, is how do you get your freedom?"

"And you want to help me?"

He giggled as if highly amused by Liana's question. "Oh, no, no, no, dearie. I want you to help me. And you will."

Again, Liana wondered how he knew she would since she herself hadn't even decided if her freedom was worth making a deal with the Dark One. For all she had heard his deals were promising – and that it was – but also dangerous. She was looking for the catch, for something that would make the deal profiting for him but adverse, maybe even dangerous for her.

Since the Dark One didn't react to her frown and she doubted that he would answer the question if she asked, Liana skipped to the next question that was bothering her, "What could you possibly get from me?" She was but the daughter of simple farmers working as a seamstress for their landowner; she didn't see how she could help the Dark One.

"Funny you should ask. Can you read?" And with a snap of his fingers, he materialized a scroll and unrolled it. Carefully Liana took it and began to read. She wasn't very skilled; her parents could never teach her and her master only cared to make her read numbers and figures in order to be able to fulfil the customers' orders. Along the way, she had, however, picked up one or two things about language and words so she was able to understand that it was a contract between her and the Dark One, saying the he would pay off her debts with her master in order to free her from the duty of working for him. In return, she had to procure a magical golden thread.

"A magical golden thread?" she repeated, mustering the Dark One, who had watched her with a content grin playing his lips ever since she had taken the parchment scroll from him, and wondering what power this magical thread possessed and why he would need it.

"Yes, you see, it's in the possession of your master."

"Then, why don't you just get it?"

The Dark One sighed, then explained slowly as if speaking to a young child, "You see, that's the thing about magic, dearie: it always comes with a price and there's always a catch. In this particular case, the thread is protected by its magic and only a person who wants to get it but not use it will be able to obtain it."

So that was reason why needed her, Liana realized.

"And why do you need it?" she dared to ask but already expected the answer she got, "My business."

"Look, if you want me to get this magical thread for you, I want to know what I am dealing with. So you can either tell me or you can go find someone else to do your business with." Liana didn't know where her courage for that kind of snappish answer had come from but she knew she had an odd feeling about making a deal with the Dark One and procuring a possibly powerful magical object for him for who knows what purpose. She needed to know what she would be giving to him before he use it for whatever evil reason he needed her to procure it for him. At least that's what she told herself in order to convince herself that she at least made sure he wouldn't release some sort of evil on the world before she took his deal to get her freedom when deep in her heart, she already knew she would take the deal no matter what the price.

"What makes you think I can't find someone else who will take my offer without asking such impertinent questions?" the Dark One challenged, the impish grin never leaving his face. For a moment, Liana hesitated, worried that maybe the Dark One would take back his offer and find someone else to make his deal with. She was nervous that she had ventured too much and had pushed her freedom out of reach again, but then she remembered how he had mustered her after her master had called her. _She fits perfectly_ , he had said, perfectly to take his deal so he would get what he wanted. So she straightened up, steeled her jaw and answered with a firm voice, "You won't. You asked for me, didn't you? Because you know I am the one with the least to lose and the most to win. Because you know I want something the other ones will get eventually. So it's either me or no deal."

The Dark One raised his eyebrows in astonishment and maybe even a little bit admiration, then he mustered Liana as if waiting for something she forgot to say. She couldn't think of anything so she said the first thing that crossed her mind, "If it makes you feel any better, you can make the question and answering part of our deal."

At that, the Dark One giggled. "Aren't you a sassy one," he said, not pronouncing it as a question and never averting his eyes from her once. "Very well. Rumpelstiltskin." He bowed for her, a gesture that took her by surprise. No one had ever shown such a sign of respect for her – sure, there were some customers who appreciated her work, but never her as a person.

"What?" Liana wondered, meaning his gesture as well as his words since she had no idea what he had just said.

"My name," he explained, "I do believe you just earned it."

 _So he has a name_ , Liana thought, _maybe he is a man after all, or he has been a long time ago._

He stood up again and with a wave of his hand, he amended the lines of the contract. Liana tried to read it again and it seemed like he had added that he had to answer every of her questions concerning the magical thread she should procure for him.

"All right," she agreed and with another flick of his wrist, the Dark One held a quill in his hand and handed it to Liana, with the words, "Just sign on the dotted line."

He turned around and placed the parchment on his back so she could sign her name – the only letters she could write. As soon as the last letter was written, the scroll and the quill disappeared and the Dark One faced her again with his impish grin still on his lips.

"Very well, dearie. What is it you want to know?"

Liana thought for a moment, then still decided for the question that occurred to her first, "This golden thread, what is it? It's powerful magic, right?"

"All magic is powerful, dearie, in its own way."

"What does that kind of magic do?"

"It connects, like a thread usually does. It merely takes the qualities of a normal thread and makes them magical."

"So it does not only connect pieces of cloth, does it?"

"Oh no, dearie, it connects so much more."

"For example?"

"Fates, dearie, fates."

"Whose fates?"

"Everyone's in all the realms."

"What happens if you cut it?"

"You would destroy it. You would separate the fates and divide the realms in an irreparable way. No one could reconnect them the way they were and everything would be lost."

" _Lost_? As in _destroyed_?"

"Yes, dearie. You see, the world and the people on it are connected in a way no one can imagine, no one can really understand. And this connection keeps it alive. Without it, the world we know, the world we live in, would cease to exist."

"And why do you want the thread?"

It was the first question the Dark One hesitated to answer, like he felt uneasy to tell her about his intentions, which made Liana feel uneasy, too. Knowing that the magical object she would give him had the power to destroy the world wasn't something she could take easily. But after only a matter of seconds the Dark One decided to let her know, "I can see the future." He paused for a moment and Liana wondered why he had told her and why it mattered, but before she could take another breath to ask the question, Rumpelstiltskin continued, "I can see everyone's fate. But it's a difficult gift, one that is not so easy to control, because you not only see what will happen but also, what can happen. Separating those endless possibilities has proven to be…more difficult than I had expected. The thread will allow me to investigate the connection that exists between the fates of the people living in the different realms. And by understanding that, it will be a lot easier to distinguish the possible futures from those sure to happen. Were you able to follow, dearie?"

Liana nodded slowly for she was sure she knew what he wanted to tell her even though she needed a moment to comprehend.

"So, you don't want to destroy it?" was the first question that came to her mind when she thought about everything the Dark One had just said, and she couldn't help but make it sound like she couldn't believe his intentions to be so noble.

"No, dearie. Weren't you listening? It would destroy the realms and I need them intact."

"Why?"

"That does not directly concern the thread so it's my business."

"Would you use it?"

The Dark One frowned and looked at her, puzzled, so she concreted, "Would you sew it?"

"There would be no point in that, dearie."

"Why not? It's a thread, isn't it? What else would you use it for? Why else would my master have it?"

"Your master has it because he stumbled upon it and has no idea what it really is. He knows it's precious, of course, but if he knew what it really is, he wouldn't keep it in the bottommost drawer of his desk in his office, waiting for the next best royal to come along and order a dress, with which he can use a golden thread."

Liana swallowed hard when she realized how lucky they had been that no king or queen had come to them. Her master wouldn't have hesitated to use the golden thread to make the most beautiful dress or suit he thought the royal had ever seen – at cost of the world. She breathed out nosily at the thought of those horrible consequences of simple ignorance.

"Then, what do you do with it?" Liana wanted to know once she had successfully pushed the images of a destroyed world by a simple cut thread to the back of her mind.

"I study it." The Dark One said those words as if they were the most obvious ones in the world.

"That's all?" Liana couldn't stop herself from asking.

"Yes, dearie. That's all."

"How?"

"My, my, dearie, such deep interest in a simple thread. Or is it magic itself that interests you?"

"Neither," she could say without hesitation, "I'm just interested in the continued existence of the world."

"And I have told you, dearie, so am I."

Liana raised her eyebrows to show her doubts and the Dark One pretended to be offended. "Such mistrust, dearie. Where does that come from?" he asked and Liana could almost believe it was honest interest – almost.

"I just don't believe you to be the kind of man that cares for the well-being of the world," she answered and couldn't help but notice that he wasn't in the slightest surprised for he said – and this time she did believe in his honesty –, "That I don't. But I do care about my own well-being, and sometimes these two coincide."

Liana nodded in acknowledgement, but still, her question remained, "How do you study a magical thread?"

The Dark One grinned as if he had expected her to go back to her question – only then Liana remembered that he had told her that he could see the future and maybe he had already known that she would ask again. However, Liana didn't expect his answer, "Maybe you want to come to my Dark Castle and have a look at my methods."

Startled, Liana shook her head and replied, "No." It sounded a lot more like a question than she intended to so she wanted to add something that would provide it with more sincerity but was stopped by the Dark One's grin that had widened upon her reaction. Liana didn't know if it was because he had expected her answer again – and she didn't suppose it was so unpredictable for she couldn't imagine anyone accepting his invitation into his home – or if it was because he knew more than she did – which he obviously did since he probably could see the future, which made her wonder if he had seen in her future that she would sooner or later end up in his castle. The thought alone made her shudder. If the future wasn't written – and based on what he had told her about his difficulties about predicting what can and what will happen she assumed that it wasn't – and if she had any say in it, she would never go to his castle voluntarily.

"Well, then," the Dark One concluded as if he had read her thoughts – maybe he had, her facial expression seemed to give it all away easily – and the suddenness of hearing his high-pitched voice made Liana wince a little. "If you have no further questions, I'd say it's time for you to fulfill your part of our deal, dearie."

"All right." Liana breathed in deeply as if to prepare herself for a task she thought was precarious and almost suicidal. "Bottommost drawer, desk, office," she remembered and waited for the Dark One's nod to verify it before she added, "The master's office is usually locked. Any suggestions?"

"Don't worry about that, dearie. Tonight his office won't be locked."

Liana almost asked how he could know, but once again, she remembered that he could see the future – slowly but surely, she started to believe in this ability of his – so she stopped herself from voicing out her question. Instead, she decided for a different one: "Will I recognize the thread when I see it?"

"Oh, I definitely hope so, dearie. It would be a shame if you wouldn't."

Liana nodded, still feeling a bit uneasy about the task lying ahead of her and still not sure if it was such a good idea to make a deal with the Dark One. But she had signed the contract and she would stay true to her word so she straightened up and nodded once more. "Very well, then."

She was ready to accompany him to the door since he had sent away her master, who would usually see off his customers, when she remembered that she had all the figures she needed to make him new clothes.

"Do you…" she ventured, "Do you want to choose the fabric for your new clothes, sire?"

The Dark One looked at her and for the first time he seemed to be astounded and confused by her question. He didn't answer for a long moment so Liana assumed he didn't have an answer which was why she continued, "I know you said you didn't come here for new clothes but I have everything I need and I could be ready by tomorrow." She paused again but still, the Dark One only looked at her. She couldn't stand the silence so she still kept on talking, "Of course, you'll have to pay my master for it but since you can also pay my parents' debts I don't assume money is a big problem of yours."

"I will free you from this life," the Dark One finally said, "and still, you choose to keep on doing your work?" He was obviously confused by her behavior. As much as she was fascinated and amused that even the Dark One didn't know everything she didn't enjoy his confusion so she explained, "It's not the work I don't like, I do quite enjoy it, in fact. I just don't like the circumstances that have brought me here, that's why I want to get away. And since you will give me the chance to do so, why not make your assignment the last one I will fulfill?"

Rumpelstiltskin thought about her words for a moment, then nodded in acknowledgement and said, "Very well, dearie, make the clothes, I will pay your master with as much gold as he deems appropriate. But why don't you choose something you deem fitting for me?"

Those were always the hardest tasks, Liana knew. And the problem wasn't to find something she thought fitted to the customer but to find something the customer agreed with – that was the trick when they didn't even tell you what they wanted you to make. But Liana also knew how to handle such situations, so she stepped closer to the Dark One – even though she still felt a little anxious about him – walked around him and mustered him from head to toe, especially checking his clothes. From his coat to his boots, he wore leather in a deep brownish-red.

 _It fits to his skin_ , Liana thought, for it looked old, papery and wrinkled and also like animal skin.

But the material of his clothes looked stiff and uncomfortable so Liana immediately had an idea about what to do. She nodded to show him that she was done examining him. The Dark One grinned again and, in an elegant gesture, waved his hand to say goodbye. "Adieu, dearie. And don't forget to deliver." With those last words, he dissolved in a cloud of dark-red smoke, leaving Liana behind to stare holes into the air where Rumpelstiltskin had just stood. It took a long moment for her to realize that he was actually gone before she could shake the surprise off and go back to her work.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Once upon a Time or any of its recognizable characters, only the character of Liana and some of the events that play out.

So, here we go, 2nd Chapter. I was actually going to update a bit sooner, but what can I say? Life kept me busy. So I'm not sure how regularly I can post but I'll try to keep them all at a similiar length and publish one chapter per week.

Hope you enjoy the story and don't forget to review.

 **Warning:** mentioning of death, not to detailed but just so you know...

 **2nd Chapter:**

The day passed by like nothing. After the Dark One had left, Liana finished the simple dress for a young woman she had stopped working on twice – the first time for the countess's dress and the second time because she had taken the Dark One's order and his deal. By the time she was finished, it was already dark outside and her eyes burned from working in the spare candlelight but Liana decided to at least pick out the fabrics and materials she wanted to make the Dark One's new clothes of. So she went to the back of the working room where there was a door that led down a staircase to the cellar rooms. In one hand, she held the lit stump of a candle, with the other one she groped her way down the stairs along the damp brick wall, taking her steps carefully so she wouldn't slide down and probably break her neck. One of the other workers had once fallen down these stairs; she didn't die but was seriously injured, probably broke her rib and her left arm, but the master didn't even consider to call a doctor, yet forced her to keep on working and fishing the customers' orders. Liana didn't intend to get hurt, let alone die, on her last day of imprisonment.

The thought that after tomorrow she would be free hadn't established in her mind yet – if it had, she would be more exhilarated about it instead of keep on doing her work as usual. It was rather like she expected the deal to fall through, the Dark One to go back on his word or the possibility that she couldn't obtain the thread. She would only be sure that everything was going as planned when she was back in her parents' barn; until then she would be cautious with her expectations – they had been let down too many times for her to be a quick and easy believer.

Liana reached the end of the staircase and entered the big cellar room at the end of the short corridor where they stored rolls and rolls of fabric made of all different kinds of material – linen and wool, silk and velvet, leather and fur – and in all different kinds of color. Of course, they also stored fabrics of inferior quality upstairs on a shelf in their working room to make sure customers would more likely choose those cheaper materials instead of the high prized silk and velvet they kept in the dark, hidden from view. Those were set aside for customers such as the countess or, Liana assumed, the Dark One.

She distinctly remembered him wearing stiff and hard leather that couldn't be comfortable at all so she had decided to choose for his new clothing only the finest velvet and the softest leather. She knew her master wouldn't approve with her choice but Rumpelstiltskin had assured her he could pay whatever the master would demand so she thought it was worth a try. And maybe, perhaps, she wanted to do the man, who would set her free, a favor – not that she would admit to it if anyone should ask but it was most likely her intention.

In order to find the material Liana was looking for she had to work her way forward through every pile and every roll of fabric to the backmost corner. Along the way, she grabbed into one or two, or certainly even more, cobwebs and found more than just a few mothballs. It demonstrated how miserly the master handled with his best materials and how poorly they rotted in the cellar storage. Liana guessed it was a good thing she decided to use some of it now.

After a little while, she found the little pile of soft cowhide, the even punier stack of velvety buckskin and the few feet of brownish yellow silk fabric she was looking for. To be able to carry it all at once, she blew out the candle and left the stump on the shelf. When her eyes had gotten used to the darkness around her Liana could make out the shelves' silhouettes and was able to make her way around them without breaking her toes. Climbing up the stairs wasn't just as easy as it was a balancing act between not missing the steps, not letting the stack of fabrics, she was carrying, fall to the ground and not losing her own balance – and all of this while not seeing clearly since the dark around her didn't allow her to make out more than shadows. With insecure steps, she felt her way up the stairs and back into the working room where all of a sudden, the candlelight blinded her.

Liana hadn't expected anyone to be still in there for it was way past their working hours, but it appeared as if she wasn't the only one working late to complete a customer's assignment.

"What are you doing up so late?" Elaine, the only seamstress younger than Liana, asked and when she saw the pile, Liana carried, she added, "With all that high priced stuff? Did the master approve?"

"No," Liana answered truthfully, "But the customer did."

Elaine nodded and turned back to her own dress for the only opinion that outranked the master's was the customer's – even Elaine, who hadn't worked for the tailor master for a very long time, knew that and thus didn't question Liana's actions any further. But Liana wanted to know, "What's your urgent assignment keeping you up at this late hour?"

"Some duke is throwing a ball and some baroness needs to attend."

"And the master is letting you work on such a complicated and extravagant dress?" It wasn't meant to sound so offending; Liana was just curious for the master usually did not let an inexperienced, young seamstress work on a dress that was of such importance to him and his reputation.

"He isn't," Elaine admitted and luckily didn't seem to be offended at all. "But Ella is busy finishing that highly complicated dress for the royal whose name I can't even pronounce right and Victoria has taken over all the other assignments Ella couldn't take. And you had to make the countess's dress and were then ordered to serve another customer – by the way, I'm still wondering who that was – so I was the only one available to take over the baroness's dress."

"Does the master know?" Liana cunningly avoided Elaine's indirectly asked question by one of her own.

"No," the younger woman admitted.

"Don't let him," Liana advised her. "If anything is wrong with the dress, he will blame Ella for it. And she won't sell you out for then she would be in trouble for letting you work on the assignment." It wasn't meant as cruel as it probably sounded to an outsider, it was just how they survived working for a man like their master: they kept quiet, took the blame for one another and never sold each other out to him.

"Are you using the velvet from up here?" she wanted to know and Elaine nodded and quite possibly wondered how Liana knew so the latter explained, "There's sheep's wool weaved into it. If you work here long enough, you will see and feel the difference. The master would certainly approve with your choice of material but not all customers will – and if they don't, he will make you pay for it. To avoid that, you should use the velvety fabric we keep downstairs for the topmost layer. The customers will approve to the elegant and shiny look and the master can't complain because his customers are content." It was how the younger seamstresses learnt, it was how Liana herself had learnt the craftsmanship: by lessons and advises imparted on her by the older ones. It felt only fair that on her last day she would give some important bits of knowledge to the one person who would certainly need it.

Elaine nodded. "Thank you."

"And now, you should go to bed, Elaine. You cannot work well with tired eyes." She reminded herself of Linda, an old seamstress whom she had learnt from. In her first year in the tailor shop, Linda had taken her under her protective wings and had taught her not only how to sew but to design a dress of desirable elegance and incomparable beauty, not only the rules of the artistry but also the creativity within them. And most importantly, Linda had always taken care of her. Liana was only a young girl when she was taken away from the save haven of her parents' home and forced to work for a cruel man with the only ambition to get his money back through Liana's work. When Liana cried because she missed her parents badly, Linda would soothe her. When Liana sewed her hands bloody, Linda would take over her task. When Liana was still awake until late at night, desperately trying to finish an assignment, Linda would send her to bed. When Linda died of a heart attack only a year after Liana had begun to work in the tailor shop Liana was the one to cry the most for she had not only lost a friend but the only person who had made her feel like she hadn't lost her freedom completely.

What people said appeared to be indeed true, Liana figured; at the end, you looked back upon the beginning. She hadn't thought of Linda or the torture of her first years of imprisonment for a while, only now when the possibility of an end was within her grasp, she remembered.

"Are you going to bed?" Elaine asked and for a moment there, Liana could hear a younger version of herself ask Linda the very same question. She had to smile, yet shake the memory before she could answer, "I won't be long. I'm just preparing everything for a head start tomorrow."

"Then, I'll stay up with you." And yet again, Elaine reminded her of the fourteen-year-old version of herself for she also had refused to go to bed before Linda would.

Any other night, Liana would have enjoyed the company but tonight, she had another assignment, apart from making new clothing, one nobody could know about: she had to steal the golden thread out of the master's office. A task, which was complicated enough in itself, and Liana didn't need any spectators or confidants. For that reason, and that reason only, she said, "That's very kind of you, Elaine, but you need to get some rest and I need to finish this so…" She left the sentence hang in the air but Elaine caught the message either way for she asked, "Are you trying to get rid of me? Because…it sure seems to me like you were trying to do just that."

 _Observant_ , Liana thought and didn't quite know if she was supposed to be impressed or annoyed. She was a bit of both, she decided, but tried not to let it show when she replied, "The only thing I'm trying is to let you get the last decent spot in the bed." For the four seamstresses shared one room and one bed, a vacant spot to sleep was the only thing they ever fought about, and usually no one would give that up voluntarily so Liana knew her excuse was quite petty. It didn't surprise her that Elaine saw through it, "It has something to do with that new customer of yours, hasn't it? What did you say was his name again?"

"I didn't tell you his name," was the only answer Liana provided, avoiding Elaine's other question by simply not responding to it.

"So I'm right about him and his special assignment. But am I also right about you not telling me about it?"

"Fine," Liana seemingly gave in, "If you need to know, his name is Rumpelstiltskin, and he is indeed a very powerful man, which is why I promised him I would have his order ready by tomorrow." It wasn't quite the truth, but it wasn't a lie, either, so Liana didn't feel too bad about it, especially since it was the only way Liana knew to satisfy Elaine's curiosity.

"Rumpelstiltskin," Elaine repeated, "Never heard of him."

 _This is because you know him as the Dark One_ , Liana thought to herself but kept quiet and reached for the yardstick and the piece of parchment where numerous figures were written on. The moment her skin touched the paper and the wood she could still feel the magical influence from the Dark One's actions before; it tickled in her fingertips and seemed to be absorbed and at the same time repulsed by her body. The feeling was frightening so Liana put both items back on the table and took a few steps back.

"Are you alright?" Elaine asked, and when Liana was able to force herself to avert her eyes from the yardstick and the parchment and look at Elaine, she saw deep concern edged upon her face. She wondered what could have caused the trouble so she asked back, "Yeah, sure. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because you were just afraid of a yardstick and a piece of paper."

"No, I wasn't," Liana denied with more emphasis than would have been necessary, and her voice betrayed her. She knew Elaine wasn't convinced even before the younger woman said, "If you say so."

"Yes, I do say so. I wasn't scared, I was just…distracted. The shadows played tricks on me."

"Maybe you're the one who should go to bed."

"And delay an important customer's assignment? Not a chance. I'm finishing this, no matter how many tricks the shadows and my mind can think of."

"Do what you must," Elaine finally resigned, "But I'm gonna take that last vacant spot in the bed and you'll have to live with the floor tonight."

"I will," Liana assured her and watched as the younger woman left the working room and headed upstairs to the small chamber their master provided as their bedroom. Once she was gone, Liana turned back to the parchment and carefully placed her hand on top of it. Immediately, she felt the magic flowing through it and her body again, the air stirring with tension. The feeling was alarmingly familiar, she just couldn't recall where she had felt it before, and Liana needed to pull her hand back before she could be overwhelmed by it. The moment she broke the contact the candle burned out. Suddenly, she was left in complete darkness, alone with the vague feeling of magic still imprinted on her skin. Contrary to what she had told Elaine, Liana was scared, not of the yardstick or the parchment itself but of the magic she could feel inside them.

Liana gulped and took a deep breath to calm her pounding heart, then shook her head to forget about it all. She tried not to be worried that she could feel traces of magic left behind hours after the actual magical deed, tried to focus on the task laying ahead of her, but just as she had calmed herself down enough to resume her work, she turned around and all of the sudden, the candle was lit again. Terrified, Liana stared at it, unable to avert her eyes, unable to move at all. And the harder she stared, the more the light began to flicker again; it was like she was causing it.

She needed to turn away, support herself against the table and take a few deep breaths to regain control over her body, which was trembling relentlessly.

"I am not causing this," she told herself several times without any success. "It's the residue of magic left within the objects Rumpelstiltskin touched."

When her hands stopped shaking, her heart stopped pounding in her chest and she stopped breathing heavily, she decided to ignore whatever had just happened and to continue her work. She picked up another yardstick, another piece of parchment and another pen from the shelf at the back and from the figures that were already written on the parchment, she carefully made sure she wouldn't so much as brush again, Liana calculated the measurements she needed for trousers, shirt and west she was going to sew. She wrote down those new figures on the blank parchment with the new pen and then picked up the new yardstick to measure the fabric and drew the according lines on it.

Once she was done with that, Liana heard the church bells chime three o'clock in the morning and decided that she needed at least a few hours of sleep even if it was her last day. So she put all of the utensils and materials aside, where she could pick them up again later that morning, blew out the candles and left the working room. Moonlight shone through the big shop windows and enlightened the show room in a pale light that almost blinded Liana for she was only used to the spare candlelight and darkness. Her eyes dropped to the floor but also caught the sight of the door to the master's office and the chink of light shining through from under the door.

 _Don't worry about that, dearie. Tonight his office won't be locked_ , Liana remembered the Dark One's words. _How could he have known?_ Liana wondered, but the answer presented itself: he could see the future, all the evidence was beginning to point towards it, Liana could no longer deny that gift of his. But was the door unlocked because the master was still working?

Liana doubted it for he had never worked late but drew closer to the dark wooden door as quietly and carefully as she could, nonetheless. If the master was still awake, she didn't want to risk being caught by him; if he had fallen asleep in his office, Liana wouldn't want to wake him up.

Once she had reached the door, she paused and listened for any sound coming out of the master's office, the faint rustling of paper, the scratching of a quill, the creaking of a chair, anything that would indicate that he was still working. Instead, she heard a soft snoring and let out relieved, yet silent sigh. The master was asleep; all she needed to do was be quiet and she could go in, steal the thread and leave without ever being noticed.

Liana took another deep breath, steeled her jaw, turned the doorknob slowly but quietly, and opened the door a tiny crack. She peeked inside and caught a glimpse of her master, sitting in his chair, his head resting on his desk, his eyes closed, his arms hanging down limply. Again, she paused and waited for another snort to make sure he was still asleep, before she slid silently into the room and tiptoed around his desk to the front side, where there were four drawers on the right.

 _Bottommost_ , she recalled and kneeled to open the right one, but in that moment, the master mumbled something she couldn't understand and began to move. Liana froze, her head telling her to run like hell, her gut telling her to sit still and hope the master would fall right back to sleep. Unable to decide, which option was the cleverer one, she did nothing, and it turned out to be the right thing for her master didn't even wake up. She let out the breath she didn't even realize she was holding and carefully opened the bottommost drawer. Inside it were parchment scrolls, several books, numerous pens and quills and three or four jars of ink but no thread. Warily Liana lifted up the books and pushed aside the scrolls to look past and beneath them, but still, she couldn't find the thread.

Should Rumpelstiltskin be wrong about the place where her master kept this magical object? He had alluded that he had some trouble in using that gift, it was perfectly possible that he got something wrong. Disappointed, Liana put back the books and jars clattered against each other. It sounded too loud in the complete silence and Liana quickly glanced at her master to make sure he wasn't waking. Then she realized that among the clattering was a different, more muffled sound; something that didn't sound like glass at all. Curious, she lifted up every single scroll of parchment until she came across one that felt heavier than the others did, but the weight difference was local, as if something was stuffed inside the scroll. Liana held the scroll up vertically so the little object could slide out and she could catch it with her free hand. Immediately, she felt the prickling on her palm, the tension in her arm and the sizzling waves of magic sent through her body. Liana opened her fist and looked at a tiny spool with a fine, thin golden and glowing thread wrapped around it. It was impressive how such a small object could bear so much power, the power to destroy the world, yet Liana didn't have any doubt about it as she felt the magical aura of mystery pulsating through it. She closed her fist around the spool again and hid it within the folds of her skirt for the tickle of magic on her skin made her feel uneasy, then she put the parchment scroll back inside the drawer and carefully closed it. Without making a sound, she got up, walked around the desk the same way she had come and left the room. Holding her breath, she closed the door and prayed that the lock wouldn't click. Once the door was shut, she paused and waited for a sound of her master's awakening but there was none; the tailor shop was dead silent. So Liana let out her breath, went upstairs into the seamstresses' bedroom and laid down on the floor to find some rest.

However, tonight sleep was hard to come by. Liana tossed and turned around for over an hour. For one, she was not able to find a comfortable position on the hard wooden floor and for another, she was endlessly thinking about her deal with the Dark One, the possibility of seeing her parents again, the magical golden thread she kept hidden within the folds of her skirt and the mysterious events that had happened tonight. Liana was confused as to why she had felt residues of magic within the objects Rumpelstiltskin had magically moved and why the burning candle had flickered every time she had touched those objects. She didn't know much about magic – in fact, she didn't know anything about magic, apart from the fact that it was a mystical, powerful force that was able to do great good but also terrible evil – and she had always thought it best to not come in touch with such a strong power she knew so little about. Until today, that had worked out quite well for her. But now that she had come in touch with magic, she was almost intrigued by it, yet at the same time, repelled, knowing that holding and controlling such a mighty power was bound to have a price. A price she was sure she was not willing to pay, which was why she was glad that she would give the magical thread, whose powers she could still vaguely perceive ever since she had first laid hands on the spool, to Rumpelstiltskin by tomorrow and could turn her back on magic. But could she, Liana wondered. She had felt the soft tickling upon touching objects that remembered magic and the galvanizing sizzling upon touching an object that contained magic and had to admit that she could only describe the feeling as unique. And as much as she was repulsed by it, she also wanted to feel it again, wanted to find out what it was and why she felt it.

Liana thought about asking Rumpelstiltskin about it and wondered whether he would answer her question since it was not directly concerning the thread itself. Then again, she didn't need him to assume again that she was interested in magic.

 _I'm not interested in magic_ , she thought to herself and couldn't help a soft scoff of disagreement escape her mouth. _Well, maybe a little bit_ , she then had to admit to herself when she thought about it further. But she certainly wouldn't run it by Rumpelstiltskin; he already thought she wanted to know about his methods, even invited her to his castle to take a look – although she doubted it was a serious offer. Liana didn't need to arouse more of his attention; she just wanted to hand the thread to him and leave, go back to her parents' barn, resume the life she had left and forget about the last five years, and especially about Rumpelstiltskin, his deal and magic. Then again, no one else in her life could tell her, she didn't know anyone else with magical abilities – not that she was keen on it – so the Dark One was the only one to ask. Assuming, she wanted to know, which she wasn't too sure about. She had the oddest of feelings that once her life got entwined with magic, there was no heading back. And she didn't want to get into something she couldn't get out of, especially when the matter in question was something, she was equally interested in as well as afraid of. That was why she decided not to ask Rumpelstiltskin about it.

And with that final thought, Liana turned around one last time, closed her eyes and finally drifted off to sleep.

* * *

So...that was it for now. I know it doesn't really happen much in this chapter but putting in her next meeting with Rumpelstiltskin would have definitely overstreched the length of this chapter, so it's up for the next one...

By the way, what do you think about her being able to feel magic? You get where I'm headed with that?


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Once upon a Time or any of its recognizable characters, only the character of Liana and some of the events that play out.

And Chapter Three is up.

Hope you enjoy the story and feel free to review!

 **Warning:** Rumpelstiltskin is a dick to Liana

 **3rd Chapter:**

Liana awoke again to the sounds and noises of the other seamstresses rising and preparing for another day of work. It felt like ten minutes of sleep, tops, and Liana was even more tired and exhausted than before she fell asleep but got up, nonetheless. With automatic movements, she washed her face, hands and arms, redid her long light-brown hair to a high ponytail and tightened the laces at the front of her corset. Then she left the bedroom with the other seamstresses and went downstairs.

On the table in the back of the showroom stood a small basket with four slices of bread in it. Each seamstress took one and then went quietly to the working room in order to resume their work.

Everything was right where Liana left it so she could immediately pick up the items she needed and began with controlling the work she had done late at night. She noticed some miscalculations, which she quickly corrected, and amended the lines, she had drawn on the fabric with chalk, before she reached for the scissors and cut along those lines.

It was simple work so Liana found the time to think. Only that there was nothing left to think of. She had made up her mind the previous night: a short encounter with magic was enough for the rest of her lifetime so she would turn her back on it the moment Rumpelstiltskin had paid her debts.

Yet, she couldn't stop curiosity getting the better of her and walked to the shelf at the back of the room, pretending to look for something only to touch the yardstick Rumpelstiltskin had used again. As soon as she laid hand on the item, there was a soft humming in the air and the vague feeling of magic tickled her fingertips. So it was still there, Liana figured, only much weaker, and she couldn't help but wonder if the other girls were able to feel it. Immediately she started to think of a way to get one of the other women to touch the yardstick without arousing too much suspicion. You would think that wouldn't be too hard since they worked in a tailor shop but Liana came up with nothing. Gladly, the solution presented itself to her when Elaine walked up to her to ask, "Can I borrow that?"

Liana nodded, smiled happily at the simplicity of the solution, and wordlessly handed the yardstick to Elaine, carefully watching her reaction. However, the younger woman simply took it and went back to her work, obviously not noticing anything peculiar about the utensil they worked with every day.

"Are you just going to stand there and stare or will you get back to your work sometime today?" Ella, the eldest seamstress since Linda died, asked when she stood next to Liana, who winced and jumped a little to the side. Again, her tone supposedly seemed harsh to an outsider, yet it was but a fair warning before the master caught her doing obviously nothing.

"I should be going, " Liana mumbled and turned away from Elaine, working completely ordinary with the yardstick. Obviously only she felt the magical residue inside it.

"What is with you, lately?" Ella wanted to know, suddenly sounding worried.

"Nothing," Liana warded off, her voice hitching, betraying her emotions.

"As if. You've been acting strangely since you took that new assignment yesterday, so what's wrong?"

"Nothing," Liana repeated, this time keeping her voice calm.

"That new customer of hers, he seems to be somewhat powerful. He made her promise to have his order ready by today," Elaine helped Ella out.

The older woman nodded understandingly at Elaine's words, then turned back to Liana and asked, "Powerful or intimidating?"

"Both," Liana admitted truthfully.

"What's his name?"

When Liana hesitated, Elaine provided the answer again, "Rumpel…Rumpelschtiltskin, or something."

"Rumpelstiltskin?" Ella repeated anxiously and looked at Liana, worried, as if she knew who Rumpelstiltskin really was. The younger woman gulped, ducked her head and wished she could disappear in a cloud of smoke like the Dark One had. Ironic, since she had decided to walk away from magic after this short encounter with it.

This little conversation – or for Liana's part, the lack thereof – had aroused the other two seamstresses' attention and they were now waiting for Liana to say something that might explain Ella's tension. But the eldest seamstress just threw a serious look towards them and they resumed their work although Liana wondered if they were really as consumed in it as they appeared to be or if they still tried to listen after all. As if Ella expected them to try to eavesdrop, she lowered her voice before she asked, or rather suspected, "You made a deal with him, didn't you?"

Liana nodded.

"What did he promise you?"

Liana hesitated. She didn't really want to talk about it with Ella, she didn't see the point. The decision was made, the contract signed; even if she wanted to she couldn't go back anymore, no matter how hard people tried to talk her out of it – and by the way Ella looked at her, she could tell that she was going to try exactly that.

At last, however, Liana gave in and answered, "My freedom."

Ella nodded understandingly. "What did he ask for, in return?"

The younger woman shook her head. "The less you know the better. I don't want any of you to get into trouble.""

"Okay, " the eldest seamstress gave in, "Just one last question: you knew who you were facing, you have heard the stories, and still you made a deal with him. Why?"

"Because no one else can give me my freedom. You know how much I want it back and that I would give almost anything for it. So when he offered I couldn't resist."

"I see." Ella nodded again. "Just be careful. He's an imp. You don't cross him, you don't fool him, and if you do, he'll make you pay. But don't expect him to be straight with you."

Liana nodded and wondered if she heard the voice of experience but didn't pursue it further since she had an order to get ready so she turned back to her exquisite materials and finished the Dark One's ne clothing.

She cut along the lines she had drawn and sewed everything together. Before the church bells chimed noon she had already finished the vest and the trousers and was about to sew the shirt collar. Then she tailored both arms and seamed them up to the rest of the shirt. After that, she went back to the shelf and opened some drawers to look for matching buttons. She found brown ones, red ones, yellow ones, green ones, purple ones, even rose-shaped ones, but not the ones she was looking for, not the ones whose color would perfectly blend in with the shirt's color.

After a while of looking, she found golden buttons in the bottommost drawer of the shelf and studied them for a moment. It was not quite what she had been looking for but it could work, she figured. To test it, she laid one of the buttons on the fabric to see if the colors matched and found out that they were perfectly plain-colored to match, yet also differently shaped to be a fine highlight. Happy that she had found something to use, she grabbed a few of the buttons from the drawer and began to sew them to the shirt. Once that was done, she cut small slits into the fabric, for each button a buttonhole, and edged them so they wouldn't grow bigger.

When she cut the last thread, and thus finished the shirt, she heard the door to the tailor shop be opened, and the Dark One's high-pitched, almost hysterical voice reached her ears.

 _Right on time_ , she thought with a deep sigh to brace herself for the next encounter with the man who terrified her, yet promised her freedom.

"Here goes," she whispered to herself as she grabbed the clothes to bring them outside and present them to the Dark One.

"Good luck," Ella wished her right before Liana exited the working room, hopefully for the last time. The younger woman nodded her thanks and entered the showroom where her master bowed to the Dark One. She wanted to do the same but the Dark One stopped her, "Save the courtesies, dearie, we have work to do."

He sure was one to get straight to business, Liana thought, and she was happy about it since she was looking forward to be released from the torture of serving the tailor master.

Liana bowed her head in a nod as a response to the Dark One's apparent rush and wondered why a man who was supposedly immortal could be in a hurry. Yet, she wasn't about to ask but presented the clothes to him. He nodded his approval and she put them down on the next best table and approached him warily.

"Do you allow, sire?" she asked at pointed at the clothing he was currently wearing, the same he had yesterday, to get his permission to help him undress in order to try on his new garments.

"Yes, yes, of course, dearie, get on with it," he almost yelled at her, causing the young girl to wince a little, before she could close the rest of the distance between them to take off his coat, undo the tight laces of his leather vest and help him out of his mud-brown shirt. Liana felt uncomfortable being so close to the Dark One but her facial expression remained indifferent as she put on his new shirt and vest and closed the buttons of both. In an inconspicuous movement, she retrieved the magical thread from the folds of her skirt and put it into one of the vest's pockets. The Dark One nodded his acknowledgement and grinned ever so slightly. Then, she let him doff off his trousers and reached him the new ones she had tailored to try them on. Once he wore all pieces of his new clothing, he inspected them again, testing the quality of the materials as well as of the fashioning. He examined the seams and traced along them to see if there were any loose threads; he undid a button to look at how they were sewed up and then did the same with the buttonhole; he tested how well the trousers fitted and how well he was able to move in them. Liana had never seen a customer check the quality of her work with such sharp and experienced eyes; it almost seemed like he was a man of the artistry. Only after he had examined everything there was to, he nodded once more and concluded, "Perfect, dearie, just perfect."

"A craftsman is always pleased to hear that his work is appreciated," her master interrupted but was cut short immediately by Rumpelstiltskin, "I wasn't talking to you, you impertinent fool! I was talking to your girl as I am sure it's her I owe this excellent example of design and comfort."

The master fell silent immediately and bowed to the Dark One, yet threw Liana a warning glare. The girl ignored him and grinned with pride at the compliment.

"As for payment," the Dark One continued, "I owe you, I presume."

The master nodded enthusiastically as _payment_ was one of his most favorite words, closely followed by _gold_. Liana had to bite her lips to suppress a snort at the ridiculous sight of the old man nodding and smiling like a little child on his birthday.

"Yes, sire, as you are well aware, everything comes with a price, as do your clothes. And as we have only used the finest materials, it, naturally, reflects in the prize…"

Rumpelstiltskin wasn't even listening to the master's explanations but simply removed a small pouch from his belt, opened it and turned it around so lots and lots of gold coins would drop to the floor; more coins than Liana would have thought fitted in the small bag, more than she had ever seen in her entire life. She couldn't help but gape at the giant amount of money that was piling up at the floor. What she wouldn't give for only one of the coins since she had never even owned as much as a penny. But also her master watched bewilderedly as the coins fell, obviously thinking he was being tricked for no customer ever paid such great sums for a piece of clothing, may it be of whatever quality. "Sire," he let out with a gasp, "to what do I owe…"

The Dark One wouldn't let him finish but interrupt him yet again, "Ah, this is not only for the pieces of clothing, dearie, but also for your girl."

The master looked at him, puzzled, so Rumpelstiltskin concreted, "I do believe she has some debts with you. This…" He pointed at the pile of money on the floor. "…should cover all your expenses."

"You're taking my seamstress?" the tailor master asked, disbelieving, and looked at the Dark One, even more puzzled.

"Yes," he simply said.

Liana took that as her cue to leave. With a determined nod to emphasize the Dark One's words, she straightened up and left the tailor shop with her head held high. Outside, she breathed out nosily, relieved that she was out of the tailor shop and free to go home. Yet, she couldn't shake the apprehensive feeling that something was about to go wrong. In that case, she decided that she didn't want to stay around and wait for the other shoe to drop but started walking. However, just as she had expected, after taking a few steps the Dark One materialized in front of her from a cloud of dark-red smoke.

"And just where do you think you're going, dearie?" he asked, appearing to be honestly confused.

"Home," she answered as if it should be obvious, "You bought me free, now I wanna go back to my parents."

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that."

"What?" Liana let out in shock, "Why? We made a deal…"

"Ah, you see, I changed the deal."

"What?" Liana asked again, not less shocked, "You can't do that!"

"Sorry to disappoint you, dearie, but I'm afraid I can. And…you were there when I made the changes."

"What?" Slowly but surely, Liana began to wonder if there was anything else she was able to say, then she stuttered, "Wh-When…did you…change…the contract?"

The Dark One grinned impishly again. She would have like to wipe this self-assured smile out of his face but she feared that, momentarily, she wasn't in a position to do that.

He chuckled mildly and explained, "You see, it's not something for nothing, dearie. You can't have something without giving something in return. Do you know what I mean?"

Liana's throat went dry and she had to swallow hard before she could answer with a hoarse voice, "I wanted to know about the thread I gave you." She wanted to slap herself in the face for naively believing he had generously answered her question without expecting something in return.

"That's right, dearie. And since you signed that contract, I don't see you going anywhere."

 _Twisted little imp_ , Liana thought angrily and gritted her teeth to prevent herself from voicing her thoughts. But despite all the anger, she felt the wheels turning in her head; she was coming up with an idea. She knew she couldn't get out of this; therefore, she would have to cross the Dark One and she wasn't stupid or desperate enough to even consider trying that. But there had to be way for her to delay her trip to the Dark One's castle, to be able to see her parents one more time before she gave herself into the hands of the next master.

"No," Liana dared to contradict him.

He was taken aback and mustered her as if she had lost her mind. "No?"

"No. I'm not going with you. Not yet."

"What do you mean, _not yet_? You seem to underestimate the situation you got yourself into, dearie."

"No, I don't. I know there's no way out of this for me. But let's make another deal…" She couldn't believe she was really saying this, making another deal with the Dark One when the first one had already turned out to be exactly what she had expected it to be: to her disadvantage. But maybe she could settle this one to her own conditions; it was at least worth a try.

"Another deal? But I already got everything I want from you, dearie."

"Not quite," Liana pointed out, "There is one more thing I can give you."

The Dark One raised his eyebrows again and waited expectedly for her answer. Her heart was pounding frantically against her chest and her hands were sweating but she ignored it all and proceeded, "My obedience. Forever."

Rumpelstiltskin tilted his head and seemed surprised. "And just what would you like in return?"

Liana took a deep breath. At least, he considered, that was a start.

"Simple," she answered, "You let me go my parents. Let me see them one more time and this time, say goodbye. And you will make sure that they will never have to lend money from their landowner again. The farm will survive as long as they live. And they will have a long life, die of high age, of a natural cause. When you can guarantee me that, I will go with you. I will do whatever you ask of me, I will never disobey you; I will serve you, forever. Not just rest of my life, but forever."

The Dark One thought about her offer for a very long time, so long she thought he would never react on it, but then he asked, "And what if I don't agree?"

Liana had to keep herself from gulping at that question. She knew it was thin ice she was moving on but she couldn't let her insecurity show, not in front of the Dark One; she at least needed to appear as if she had thought this through, as if she knew what she was doing. So she steeled her jaw and replied, "Then, I will never what you ask, I will always disobey and I will try to run away every time I get the chance."

"You can't run from me."

"But I'll try. And no matter how many times I fail, I will try again. And again, and again. For the rest of my life."

"You know, I could always kill your parents."

She gasped, shocked and scared that he could make good on this threat, but then she realized that he was negotiating; he wanted to show her that she had nothing on him so she would stop demanding and making conditions. Keeping that thought in mind, she took a deep breath and gathered her senses to be able to use his own weapons against him. So she countered, "Look, you want me for some reason. I don't know what it is but I will figure it out soon enough. In the meantime, you have a way to get me, so are you going to take that deal or not?""

In a matter of seconds, the impish grin was back on the Dark One's face, making it seem like he was almost impressed even though he asked seriously, "Are you sure this is what you want? It's forever, dearie."

It was the best she could make of her current dilemma, she rationalized, she would get the chance to see her parents again, say goodbye to them and know they were okay, for the rest of their lives. It was worth it so she nodded. "I'm sure."

"I guess I'm gonna take that deal, then," he concluded and with an elegant gesture of his hand they were both engulfed in cloud of dark-red smoke. Terrified, Liana looked down at herself and saw how her body slowly dissolved, disappeared within the smoke. Strangely, it didn't feel like it was gone at all – she could still make out her feet and toes as part of her body – but as if it was someplace else, and the more of the cloud enwrapped her body the more parts of it seemed to wander to that other place. A moment later, when the fog had lifted, it turned out the feeling couldn't have been more true: the Dark One had transported her to a different spot.

Confused and disorientated, Liana looked around only to find herself on a very familiar meadow: her parents' farmland. She remembered playing here with the sheep when she was a little girl, carefully avoiding the nearby forest for it was said the strangest and most dangerous creatures hid within. Now that she was older, the forest didn't look so dark and scary anymore, she noticed. But the meadow had lost its magical radiance, too, and the adventures she had imagined having here seemed no longer possible; even the old stone house she grew up in appeared to be smaller, simpler.

"You've brought me back," she muttered, barely audible, with an equal amount of surprise and disappointment in her voice. The next moment, Liana realized she had said _back_ , not _home_ , and had to admit to herself that it was the only right thing to say. This place had been a home to the little girl she had once been but not to the woman she had become.

"Well, it's a lot faster than walking," the Dark One said and it sounded like a response to something she had said prior but Liana couldn't even remember what it was so she didn't react on it. Instead, she carefully took a few steps towards the old house but before she could reach the fence gate the door flung open and her mother rushed out and clasped her in a tight hug.

"Oh, you're back," she whimpered again and again and Liana could feel how tears wetted her shoulder. She knew she was supposed to feel the same tearful joy her mother was showing; she knew she should probably hug the older woman back; she knew she should not be so distant towards her mother but she just couldn't force herself to. In fact, she was glad when her mother let go of her again and almost sighed heavily when her arms were replaced by her father's, who lifted her off the ground and swirled her around. When she had firm ground under her feet again, she first of all took a few steps back to bring some distance between her and her parents. She knew it wasn't supposed to feel wrong to be back home again but for her it did so she did the only thing that did feel right: make the emotional distance physical and step back.

"Honey, what's wrong?" her mother wanted to know, the smile remaining on her face but her eyes turned sad and worried.

"I…I can't stay," she simply stated, a little hesitant, yet her voice was calm and her facial expression indifferent. Only inside of her raged a storm of emotion: the confusion about her lack of sadness, yet still pain, not because she couldn't stay but because she made her parents, if only for a moment, believe she could, and regret that she had come here although at the same time, she knew it was right thing to do.

"What do you mean?" her father asked, confused and irritated, yet even his smile remained plastered on his face.

"I can't stay," Liana repeated with the same calmness and continued to explain matter-of-factly, "I made a deal with a very powerful man I met in the tailor shop, and he paid back the money we owned our landowner. He will make sure that your crops will thrive and that the harvests will be good so that you will never have to lend money from him again. You will be fine. You will have a long life and good health and it's going to be okay, I promise." While she spoke, Liana realized how much it really hurt that she wasn't able to be part of her parents' life, especially now when it was about make a turn for the better, and she had to swallow the tears.

She had deliberately left out the fact that this man, she had made a deal with, was the Dark One for she knew her parents must have heard the stories, too, and weren't going to like that her daughter had in any way interacted with this devil. She also failed to mention that the deal wasn't supposed to contain anything about her parents because she felt better when she at first only named the benefits her parents could claim from it.

"There is, however, a catch," she continued and needed to take a deep breath before she could resume, "In order for that deal to work I had to promise this man something in return. And I offered the only thing I have: my life, my freedom."

Liana let out the breath she was holding and awaited the reaction that was sure to come even though her parents needed a moment longer to show it than she had expected them to; in the end, it came.

"What? No!" her mother cried out, "No, you can't leave! You just got back! _We_ just got you back."

"It's been decided, Mother. There's nothing you or I could do to change that. I only came to say goodbye."

Her father let out a soft chuckle. "At least, this time he's letting you say goodbye?"

Liana, too, had to smile. "It was part of the deal."

The old man – much older than Liana remembered him from five years ago – swallowed hard and nodded once. She knew he wasn't happy about this turn of events but at least he seemed to accept it and appreciate the gesture of saying goodbye. Her mother, on the other hand, didn't appear to be quite so understanding when she said with a feigned finality that was only betrayed by her trembling voice, "So, you're going away again."

She pouted, which forced Liana to suppress the laughter that wanted to escape her throat and remind herself how serious and painful the situation was.

"Mother," she sighed once she was aware of that again, "Don't make this harder than it has to be. I know it's not easy, for neither of us, but it's what has to be done. So I'm gonna do it, and I'm going to be fine, I promise."

"How long will you be gone?" her father wanted to know.

Liana gulped. She wasn't prepared for that question, whose answer was sure to break her mother's heart, and her own, too. Yet, she knew she needed to say it; it was only fair. Her parents deserved to know that she was not going to return so they wouldn't wait for her.

"Forever," was all she could make herself say but it was enough. Her mother gasped and her father's jaw dropped. Liana swallowed hard, closed the distance and hugged both of her parents while they were still frozen in shock for she knew she wouldn't be able to let go again if she waited for them to hug her back. When she realized she threatened to get swept up in the last family moment she would have ever again, she broke the contact and turned around to leave.

"Wait!" her mother called her back but Liana considered not reacting. Although this place didn't feel like home anymore, saying goodbye was harder than she could have ever imagined so she needed to get out of there or she might change her mind and never want to go at all. But a hand on her shoulder held her back and spun her around so she was forced to face her mother, who held a silver necklace in the palm of her hand, again.

"Your father gave this to me on our wedding. It's for good luck," the older woman explained, grabbed Liana's hand, put the necklace in it and continued, "Now that you're going away for good I think you should have it. Just so we know that wherever you are…at least you are lucky."

While her mother spoke, Liana eyed the piece carefully. It was a long necklace, made out of many filigree silver chain links, from which a simple silver ring was dangling as a pendant. She smiled upon looking at it, decided that a little keepsake wouldn't hurt anyone and then pulled it over her head.

"Thank you," she simply said and wanted to turn around again but then chose to hug her mother again, this time giving her the time to respond, and whispered in her ear, "I love you, Mama, and I'm gonna miss you." And upon saying that she couldn't help two tears roll down her cheeks.

"I love you, too, my darling. But I will never be too far away; you'll always find me in your heart."

Before the moment could get too emotional, Liana let go of her mother, wiped away her tears, smiled at her parents for a very last time and turned around for good.

Without looking back, she climbed up the hill and diverged from her parents' barn. Rumpelstiltskin emerged from the shadows of the trees as she approached.

"Are you ready for eternity, dearie?" he asked with raised eyebrows.

"As ready as I'll ever be."

And with another flick of his wrist, he made them disappear in a cloud of smoke once again, and when they reappeared, they stood in front of a grand gate, the entrance to his Dark Castle. The moment Liana looked at it, she knew she didn't want to enter but she didn't really have a choice so she straightened up and braced herself for the first day of her own personal eternity.

* * *

Yep, this is where I leave it for today. Chapter 4 will have to wait for a while since I'm going on vacation for the rest of the week. I hope I will be able to write there but I won't get to publish anything so don't expect the next chapter before next week.

Stay around and have a nice time out there!


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Once Upon A Time or any of its recognizable characters, only the character of Liana and some of the events that play out.

Here you you, Chapter Four. I had a lot of trouble writing this one so any comments - compliments as well as constructive criticism - are most welcome. I updated the chapter since the first upload, corrected some grammar and spelling mistakes and added a detail. I can still understand the ongoing storyline if you don't reread but if you have time to spare you might give the end of the chapter another go.

Jessica1209: Thank you for commenting, please keep doing that, it's an immense boost to my self-confidence that someone likes what I write ;-) Cpncerning your Prompt: I'm working on it but it turns out it's going to be a longer one so please have a little more patience with me and hang in there!

 **Warning:** Magic and violence.

 **4th Chapter:**

During her first week at the Dark One's castle Liana still counted the days of her imprisonment although it was supposed to be forever. Old habits die hard, she figured each time she added a mark to the tally on her wooden bed frame. If she kept doing that, she eventually would run out of furniture to mark but she wasn't willing to stop. Truth be told, Liana didn't even have a sense for eternity; she had made that deal with Rumpelstiltskin without thinking the consequences through and now she already regretted it. And so she kept on marking each day with a notch, ridiculously hoping that eternity might not necessarily mean forever although she already knew it did.

It wasn't until the third week that she began to wonder how she would be able to serve the Dark One for all eternity when she didn't live forever. She was sure her new master had a magical solution to her problem but she wanted to know what exactly it would be. So on her twenty-second day, when she served him his afternoon tea, she ventured to ask, "This deal we made…it's forever, isn't it?"

Rumpelstiltskin took the cup with the hot liquid from the saucer but paused in his movement to look at Liana with a questioning glare and answered, "Yes, of course, it is, dearie. You said so yourself."

Obviously assuming their conversation was already over, he delightfully had a sip of his tea before he put the cup back on the saucer and both items back on the table.

"I was just wondering…" Liana began, "I don't live forever but since it was an essential detail of our deal…well, I was wondering how I could fulfill that debt."

The Dark One slightly giggled – a sound that Liana still didn't know if she should amusing or frightening – and took another sip of his tea before he said, "Well, with magic, of course."

That much had always been obvious to Liana – even in the short time, she had spent with Rumpelstiltskin, she had already gathered that magic was his solution for everything – so she suppressed the urge to roll her eyes and simply concreted, "How?"

It took many of her powers of persuasion to get herself to ask this question for she was bluntly admitting to her interest in magic again. And of course, the Dark One didn't miss it, "Do I hear the genuine interest in my methods with magic again, dearie?"

"No."

He mustered her with both eyebrows raised, clearly not believing her. Then he suddenly stood up and challenged, "Don't deny what is obvious to my eyes, dearie."

Liana winced at the sudden proximity but forced herself to stand her ground when she pointed out, "Not your methods, Dark One, just magic in general." And even she was surprised by the truth within her own words.

"Ah, so I was right." And again, he grinned in this insufferable impish, self-assured way that caused the urge to prove him wrong in Liana. Sadly, he was right; she was interested in magic and he had assumed that before she was even willing to admit it to herself, so she could only say with gritting teeth, "Yes, you were."

"So tell me, dearie, why is that?" Rumpelstiltskin queried but Liana countered, "Why don't you answer my question first?"

For a moment, he knitted his brows and eyed her suspiciously but seemed to seriously consider her proposition for he quickly gave in and explained, "Very well, dearie. I'm gonna make you a potion that will slow down the rate of your aging drastically. Usually, the effects would wear off after some time but, if taken quite regularly, it will last relatively permanently."

Liana needed a moment to process all of the new information she had gotten from the Dark One before she could see to the core of it, "Relatively permanent?"

"Yes, you will still age, just very slowly. And the more time passes between the intakes the more your aging will return to a normal rate but the more often you take the potion the longer the effects will last."

Again, Liana repeated everything the Dark One had told her in her mind to fully comprehend it, then she inquired, "So, I still won't live forever?"

"No, I'm afraid only the Dark One can have eternal life, but you're pretty close to it, don't you think?"

Liana nodded her acknowledgement. "How do you make the potion?" she wanted to know.

"Why don't we return to my question now and you tell why it is that you are so interested in magic?"

Liana swallowed hard. Of course, she had expected the Dark One to go back to his question and demand an answer but that didn't mean that she was prepared or willing to give it. But, as it already happened too often with Rumpelstiltskin, she feared she had no choice but to tell him about the incidents in the tailor shop when she had been able to feel magic. When she had finished, he continued to gape at her with a fascination and curiosity that made her feel like she was an exotic animal on display. She gulped and took a few steps back to escape that uncomfortable feeling only to have him harden his glare.

"Yes," he finally mumbled, "Oh, yes, this is an interesting turn."

"What is?" Liana inquired to know for she couldn't stand to be left in the dark.

"You can feel magic."

She didn't know if he meant to but he made it sound like it was something special, which was why Liana was getting more and more impatient for an explanation. Her resolve to stay away from magic was thrown overboard when she asked, "Yes, I can, I just told you so. What about it?"

"You want to know why."

Again, Liana couldn't fully read his tone so she pretended not to be that interested and only shrugged, "If you tell me."

"Oh, no, no, no, dearie, that's not how it works. I don't just tell you, you need to ask."

And the act of indifference fell apart; she asked, "Why?"

"Let's just say, it's the price for me telling you something."

Liana furrowed her brows. So it was some sort of deal he wanted to strike with her but she wondered why he would still be interested, especially in such little deals, when he already had everything she could offer. But then, she realized, _He wants my dignity. He wants me to ask so I'll give up my pride in exchange for knowledge._

Liana glared at him with evil eyes and gritted her teeth again. No, she would not give him this last bit of satisfaction, he had already taken too much from her, she had already lost too many battles against him, this time she would not surrender to his games.

"Suit yourself, dearie," he read her expression correctly, emptied his teacup and thrusted the tray into her hands – the unmistakable order to bring it back into the kitchen and go back to her work. Determined and with more force than necessary Liana spun around and almost knocked the dishes off the tray and walked out of the dining room her head held high proudly. At the door that to the backstairs she hesitated, however, grunted in frustration and anger and begrudgingly turned back to ask, "Fine. Why am I able to feel magic?" She hated herself for asking that question, for giving in to yet another of his deals and wanted to slap herself in the face again for letting her curiosity getting the better of her yet again.

The Dark One giggled victoriously and Liana hated to see him display his triumph over her but she knew this time it was on her; she let him win again. So she only clenched her jaw and waited for his reply, "That's because you have magic."

At that, Liana's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. "That's not possible," she began to argue, "I…I can't have magic, I'm…I'm just a simple farmer's daughter. How could I be…?"

"Magic doesn't differentiate between nobility and commoners; magic doesn't care if you're of royal blood. Magic is a gift and it chooses you, not the other way around."

"Why would magic choose me?" She wasn't special in any way, she had no extraordinary talent or gift – at least that's what she had thought her whole life, and now she refused to believe that it could be different. She was a farmer's daughter who had been taken from her parents too soon because of their debts and found herself in the hands of Rumpelstiltskin because of her own stupidity; what on earth could make her worthy of magic?

"As I said, magic doesn't look into your social status but into your heart."

"My heart?" She walked back into the room, put the tray back on the table and faced the Dark One. "What's so special about my heart?"

"It's capable of handling magic."

"How?"

"It's strong. Strong enough to withstand the power magic will instill to it."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means your heart won't perish when magic is used."

"You mean I won't die using magic?"

"That's right, dearie. You won't die but that doesn't mean you won't go dark."

"Go dark?" Liana repeated questioningly for she had no idea what Rumpelstiltskin wanted to tell her.

"Yes. Wielding magic is one thing, dearie, mastering it with a pure heart a completely different matter."

"And going dark means…becoming evil?"

"If you want to paint the world black and white, then yes, it means becoming evil like me."

Liana gulped. Even the slightest possibility of ending like the Dark One scared her more than she cared to admit; she felt vindicated in her believe that it was best to stay away from magic although it didn't necessarily make her dark. There was no way to know for sure – or maybe there was, "How do I know if it's light or dark magic I wield?"

"You can't know that, dearie. Magic isn't light or dark in itself, you make it that way."

Liana was confused. "But you just said…"

Rumpelstiltskin wouldn't even let her finish, "That you might not be able to master magic with a pure heart, yes. That doesn't mean magic is the reason for turning to darkness."

"Then, what makes my heart dark?"

"Dark deeds," the Dark One answered with such a low voice and in such a dark tone that it sent shudders down her spine, "Killing being the darkest of them all."

Liana swallowed hard. She couldn't imagine hurting, let alone killing someone – maybe that meant that she wasn't going to turn dark, with or without magic. Still, she felt uneasy knowing that she had magic inside her but not knowing what it could do to her, especially when she looked at the Dark One and saw what magic had done to him – at least she assumed that Rumpelstiltskin had once been nothing more than a simple man and that magic had made him the Dark One.

"You still wanna know more about magic?" he challenged, his tone still as dark as his name.

He scared her like he had never scared her before, and her curiosity was gone that instant. Although she now knew that it solely depended on her whether she blackened her heart and used dark magic, she feared that all the Dark One could teach her was dark magic and she didn't want to learn anything more about that.

"No," she therefore answered with a firm voice, took the tray in her hands again and left the dining room with a finality and determination that surprised even herself.

Yet, for the next few weeks, all Liana could think about was that conversation, and no matter how much dark magic frightened her, magic itself was still fascinating, especially the possibility that she might have magical qualities. A special gift like that might make her more than she had always thought she was, and that was something she might like.

So one evening, when she was done with all her work and sat alone in her bedchamber, she closed her eyes and looked inside her. She distinctly remembered what it was like to touch magical objects, to feel the soft tingling on her skin, and now she was looking for that feeling inside of her. She took deep breaths and with every breathing out, tried to free herself from any disturbing feeling like tiredness, sadness, loneliness and desperation so that all that would be left inside would be magic; she hoped that was bound to feel it then. Her heartbeat slowed down, her breath steadied and her muscles slackened; she was totally relaxed.

It took a few moments and Liana almost feared there was nothing to feel, but then it was like a spark lit her heart and there was this magical energy flowing through her veins, the power flurrying through her body. When touching a magical object caused a slight tickle on her skin, feeling the magic inside her burned in her every limb; it made her feel strong and almost invincible.

Liana opened her eyes when her hands felt as if on fire and looked down only to see them glowing in a strange white light. It was evidence of her magical powers and she stared at her hands a little longer, admiring the beautiful shimmer, enjoying the vitalizing energy.

Only when she tried to shut the magic down again, she realized that she unleashed something she couldn't control and therefore wasn't able to make it stop. She panicked and later she guessed that this was exactly her mistake because that moment the magic exploded from her hands and left a giant hole in the wall.

Liana stared from it to her hand and back, not able to believe that it should have been her who had done that. Not long until the Dark One materialized into her chamber and inspected the damage she had caused.

"Exploring you magic, as I can see," he unnecessarily pointed out, again with this impish grin playing his lips.

Liana didn't answer, she couldn't; she was too lost in her thoughts and the whirl of emotions rushing through her head, ten paces a second.

"What was your emotion?" Rumpelstiltskin wanted to know and unconsciously, she replied, "Panic."

He nodded understandingly, then explained, "Panic is the only emotion that can make even the lightest of magic destructive. You need to learn not to fear your magic, dearie, or you might destroy yourself." He paused and looked at the hole in the wall and then added, "Or my castle, which I would like even less."

"I'm not learning anything," she made clear, still not able to avert her eyes from the damage in her room. The sheer panic subsided but an uncertain fear settled in her mind. If she could cause such destruction even with light magic, what would she be able to do with dark magic, then? She didn't want to find out and thus shook her head to keep her overactive imagination from running wild.

"Oh, you should, dearie. Unless you want the magic to control you, instead of the other way around."

Upon those words, Liana looked down at her chest where she could still feel the root of her magic. In order to be able to feel it, she had cast aside every other disturbing emotion, now she let all of them fill her heart again to numb the magic. It only worked to a limited extend. Now that Liana knew what magic felt like she was able to make it out amidst the tiredness of a hard day's work, the loneliness that slowly became her constant companion and the desperation and the homesickness that filled her each time her thoughts wandered to her parents and the missed chance to spend a few more years with them. It appeared as if by accessing it the first time, she had accepted it as a part of her, and now there was no blowing it out like a candle.

It appeared as if Rumpelstiltskin was right: the only way to deal with magic was by learning how to control it, but the only teacher available was the Dark One, and how could he teach her light magic when darkness was even part of his name?

Her master appeared to lose interest in the conversation for he turned around and walked to the door, when Liana asked, "Is that why you wanted me? Because you knew I had magic?"

"Why would I want your magic, dearie? I got my own."

She turned her head to face him when she challenged, "Maybe you need someone with a pure heart, someone who can wield light magic. There must be some deeds that can only be accomplished by light magic, just as killing is an act of darkness."

"You learn quickly. You would make an excellent student."

"And again, it's about teaching me magic. Are you sure it's not the reason you wanted me here?" Now that Liana had banished her panic to the rearmost corner of her mind and could keep her fear at bay, she also found her cocky tongue again, which was a most welcome relief.

"You are here because I saw in the future that you are the missing piece to my final plan."

"What plan?"

"My business." And because he knew her well enough to disappear into thin air, leaving Liana alone before she could ask another question.

 _At least, I won't be cold tonight_ , Liana thought, when she realized that the Dark One had repaired her wall before he had disappeared, sighed, let herself fall onto the bed, turned around to bury her face into her pillow, and tried to keep out all the questions concerning magic. She didn't want nor need to know anything else about it for she didn't want to control it. She would bury it in the innermost corners of her heart and beneath all the other emotions she could feel and hopefully, it would never show again. Then, she would never have to think about it again and that might help to keep her from going insane.

Though she lived in a castle filled with magic and with a person obsessed with it, ignoring magic wasn't hard at all. She could keep herself busy with dusting and cleaning the Dark Castle, laundering and mending the Dark One's clothes, cooking and serving him his meals and his tea and, when all of her official duties were done, she would explore every part of the castle she deemed non-magical enough. And although she stayed away from the Dark One's rather large collection of magical items – mostly, out of fear they would turn her into a toad if she accidentally touched them – she could wander around in most of the other rooms relatively unconcerned and find out what was to discover there. She found the completely unoccupied west wing that was ravaged and nearly destroyed. In those rooms, Liana found proof that the Dark One had actually been a man, an ordinary man; he had had a family, a wife and a son, had worked as a spinner – which explained his knowledge about the artistry of tailoring –, used to need a walking cane, and he had lost it all. Since he did no longer need a walking cane, Liana assumed he had magically healed his injury. He only used his spinning wheel only to spin straw into gold, which appeared to be a lot more useful than spinning flax even though he had already spun more gold than he could ever spend. And his wife and son were nowhere to be found – Liana didn't know if they were dead, had run away or had been taken from Rumpelstiltskin but either way, such a fate was cruel. Liana couldn't tell if magic had drawn him away from his former life or if losing his former life had drawn him to magic, yet it was proof of what the Dark One had told her first about magic: it always comes at a price. For the first time, Liana could understand his cold and dark demeanor and almost pitied him.

Once Rumpelstiltskin discovered that she was prying into his personal belongings he locked down the west wing with a spell and scolded her curiosity by tripling her work for the next month. Still, Liana didn't seem to have learnt her lesson for the first thing she did when she had a few minutes for herself was to resume her exploration of the castle – and found a library, a giant library stuffed with all kinds of books, more than she could read even in her increased lifetime, more than she could count.

Although she stayed away from those books that explained and taught magic, she was still left with so many books that for the next decades she spent every free minute in the library teaching herself how to read and studying every book that didn't make magic the subject of discussion at least twice. There was only book she read that contained information about that so feared subject: _The History of Magic_. It was quite interesting for it went back to the origin of magic and explained from there on how the world they lived in was filled with magic, yet why it was still feared by most people. She filed all that information up for later, who knew when she could use it again.

The Dark One might mock her for spending so much time in a world that didn't actually exist but while she saw him became the most powerful and feared man in all the realm, she gained more and more wisdom through her books, which, in a way, was only gaining another form of power. They said the word and the quill were mightier than the sword – they never happened to mention if they were also mightier than magic but Liana assumed wisdom was at least more persistent in the long run so she placed her bet on it. Especially when she considered how Rumpelstiltskin made his deals – with her, and with anyone else: he got what he wanted and the rest could go to hell. He was bound to step on some toes, yet no one was brave enough to stand up to him, herself included. But in one person, Liana thought he had found his master.

Her name was Cora and Liana wasn't there when she and Rumpelstiltskin met the first time for she was bound to the Dark Castle's ground and the Dark One went to some king's place, where Cora was in order to help her. Liana later found out that she was but a miller's daughter who tried to make her way to royalty by claiming she could spin straw into gold and thus, offer herself as the prince's bride. Luckily for Cora, spinning straw into gold was something Rumpelstiltskin did on a regular basis and he not only decided to help her but also taught her to master the magical feat. Liana never got to know why, only that he did because she became the test object for one of their magic lessons.

She was in the middle of cleaning the fireplace when she felt a cloud of smoke engulfing her and transporting her to a different place. Being magically summoned wasn't uncommon for the Dark One and working for him, Liana had gotten used to it quite quickly. When she materialized on a dark meadow, she straightened her dress and faced Rumpelstiltskin with a questioning yet still subservient look. He only raised his hand and with his movement, immobilized Liana on the spot. She fought against the spell the moment she felt it put onto her although she didn't even know why she wanted to move for there was nowhere she could go. All she knew was that panic bubbled up and she wanted to get away as fast as she could. Maybe it was the feeling of being paralyzed and defenseless that made her sick, but more likely it was the fact that magic was used against her that made her want to walk away from the situation. Yet, the spell was too strong and Liana didn't even know how or if she could break it so she begrudgingly stayed where she was.

The Dark One not even deigned to look at her but only eyed the other woman, who Liana hadn't seen before, neither on the meadow nor in her life, yet she knew her kind. _Royals_ , she thought as she mustered her from head to toe. Only later Liana learnt that this was Cora, the miller's daughter, but in the first moment she thought her to be a royal for with neatly pinned up hair, her full-length white cloak and her flawless face she looked every bit like one of those noble, could, proud and arrogant royals she had to serve working for the tailor master. For a fleeting moment, she was glad that she had the excuse of a paralysation spell to not have to bow to her before she remembered that she was at the mercy of this woman for she could not get away. And the fear of what she might do rose when Rumpelstiltskin said, "She's all yours, dearie. Show me what you have learnt."

Liana didn't like the sound of that request on bit; she wasn't willing to let that girl, who came closer with slow but unerring steps, do anything with her. More than ever, Liana fought against spell, even tried to reactivate her own magic, and with the greatest of effort, was able to twitch her fingertips. If she could have contracted her face, the corners of her mouth would have tilted upwards in a victorious smile. But when her panic subsided and made way for self-assurance, that slight victory slipped through her fingers – literally. Obviously, her fear increased her magical powers and even though she still felt uneasy about the destruction she could cause with them, right now it appeared as if she needed that destruction.

She did what she would never do under normal circumstances: she let her vivid imagination run free and come up with the worst-case scenario that this royal bride wanted to kill her. In a matter of seconds, her panic rose to new peeks and she was able to clench her hands to fists and slowly but surely, flex her arms. Then, she realized she could feel her toes again and slid her feet over the ground to bring some distance between her and the other woman. However, she was too slow and the other girl stood directly in front of her, not showing any facial expression. Liana's eyes grew wide and her panic lifted the paralysation spell but still she was unable to move when the woman in front of her raised her hand, reached inside Liana's chest and grabbed her heart. Liana needed to hold her breath for it felt so cruel and she couldn't do anything about it. Then, the woman ripped out her heart and Liana expected to drop dead that instant but she didn't. Instead, she was able to breathe again and stare at her own heart, which kept on beating in the other woman's hand. It glowed in a reddish light and pulsated with life, her life. If the whole situation weren't so bizarre, Liana might have been able to cherish the beauty of her heart, but as it was what it was, she was only anxious to know what would happen next.

"Excellent," Rumpelstiltskin, who had watched the whole scene, praised his student, drew closer to both women so that he stood next to the royal bride, and whispered in her hear, only just loud enough for Liana to hear, "And now squeeze."

Liana gulped and prepared for pain but she could have never prepared for the immense intensity of hurt that was caused when the other woman tightened her grip around Liana's heart. She wasn't able to scream, she wasn't able to beg for mercy, she wasn't even able to breathe; she could only squirm with pain until she kneeled on the floor on all fours and wait for the pain to stop, probably because she had died.

"Oh, please don't kill her. She is still of use to me," she heard the Dark One say and the next moment, the pain ceased and she could take a deep breath and realize the fact that she was still alive. She needed a few moments to stand up from the ground but then, she immediately straightened up and looked into the eyes of the other woman with resoluteness as if it took a lot more to break her. And for once, the rate of her heartbeat couldn't betray her for it still rested in the royal bride's hands and beat steadily.

"This is how you take a heart. If you had squeezed further, my maid would be dead right now," Rumpelstiltskin explained to his student and then instructed her, "Now, give her her heart back and return to the castle to kill the king. I will meet you right here when it's done." And they sealed that promise with a kiss.

Liana could only gape at the scene with wide eyes that gave away her disbelief but she didn't feel the need to place her remark so she kept quiet as the Dark One took a few steps back.

The other woman inserted Liana's heart back into her chest but didn't let go of it yet. Instead, she pulled Liana closer so that they stood chest to chest, laid the index finger of her free hand over her lips and whispered into Liana's hear, "Sh." Then, she pulled the hand with Liana's heart back out of chest and hid the heart beneath her cloak. And Liana knew, even if she wanted to, she would never be able to tell anyone that her heart had been stolen.

* * *

I'm so glad I'm done with this chapter but I fear Chapter 5 isn't going to be any easier so I'll best get to work!

As I said, edited a few things but you can go straight to the fifth chapter if you like.

Saty around and have a nice time out there!


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Once Upon A Time or any of its recignizable characters, only the character of Liana and some of the events that play out.

It was way, way too hot around here, too hot to write but I'm just in time for my self-set deadline of one chapter per week, so here you go! Enjoy reading and as always, reviews are wanted and requested!

As I've said, slight changes in Chapter Four but they're only minor so you can get straight on with this chapter if you like.

 **Warning:** Near-death experiences, magic and violence, and Cora is a b*tch to Liana.

 **5th Chapter:**

After Cora had left the meadow and had returned to the nearby palace the Dark One magically sent Liana back to his own castle with the instructions to finish her usual work and then prepare another bedchamber in the east wing, where he also had his own living rooms, and a dinner for two. It wasn't hard to figure out that Cora was about to move in with them but Liana wasn't sure what that meant for her. In the short time she had watched the young royal interact with Rumpelstiltskin on the meadow, it had already become clear to her that they weren't just master and student but that they appeared to have a love interest in each other. As much as Liana hoped for the Dark One to have a little bit of love in his life – because he sure as hell needed it – she couldn't approve with a woman who was just as cold-hearted and calculated as he was. Cora had taken her heart for a reason and not just for the simple pleasure in it; it was a coldly calculated game. Liana didn't know what the other woman aimed at, what she wanted to do with her heart but it surely wasn't good and she needed to figure it out, simply because she didn't like being used but also for the sake of her health and well-being. To have the enemy within reach would surely prove to be advantageous but also to her disfavor because she would be close to Cora then, too.

While thinking about all of this, she automatically resumed her work of cleaning the fireplace. She didn't realize how automatized her movements really were until she stopped thinking because she came to the conclusion that she couldn't do anything about the fact that the royal bride was coming to live at the Dark Castle anyway. It was the moment she finished cleaning the soot out of the fireplace and wanted to take a short break but her feet eventually carried her to the east wing to prepare the additional bedroom. She couldn't stop, she couldn't prevent her feet from taking another step, she couldn't get her hands to stop dusting the room, beating the curtains and rugs and making the bed even though she tried hard. But every time she managed to keep herself from working an immeasurable pain struck in her chest, right there where her heart used to be, and it only ceased when she resumed her work. It was like she was forced to do the Dark One's bidding, as if someone had ordered her to heed his every request. And she knew just the person to do so: the person who had taken her heart, Cora.

Rage bubbled up and made Liana let out an aggravated snort. If she hadn't wanted her heart back before, she sure wanted it now. No one should be able to force her to do whatever the other one said. Rumpelstiltskin had at least left always left her a choice; she served him because she had signed a contract that ensured her parents' life and health if she did it. And even if they were long dead by now, her contract remained and she was one to honor her agreements and stay true to her words. So she served him out of obligation but still out of her own free will. Now that this was taken from her, too, she felt like she had truly lost it all although she hadn't known that there was still something for her to lose, and it frustrated and angered her endlessly. When this woman let Liana catch sight of her again she could prepare for the shock of her life, and Liana didn't care if she might enrage the Dark One with her outburst, she would not let this stand.

But the angrier she got, the more she tried to imagine scenarios in which she would give that arrogant royal a piece of her mind, the more her rage started to suffocate her. It felt as if a heavy weight laid on her chest and pressed the air out of her lungs until Liana realized it didn't only feel that way but she was indeed gasping desperately for air. She tried to breathe but she couldn't and already had to blink the darkness that was waiting at the corners of her eyes away.

"I'm not angry with you," she pressed out with the last bit of air she had left, hoping it would lift the feeling of suffocating – and it did. The weight hoisted from her chest and she breathe relieved and freely again.

Liana needed to sit down on the bed she had just made and take a few deep breaths before a magical force coerced her to stand up, redo the bed, walk into the kitchen and begin to prepare the dinner for two.

 _Great_ , she thought grumpily as she cut the vegetables for the soup, _now I have no other choice than to do whatever I am told immediately and subserviently and can't even be angry with the person responsible for it._ She felt the need to pound her fist on the table but preferred to only take a deep breath for she was not keen on choking again, but it didn't really help to give vent to her anger.

With a discontent shook of her head, she started to heat the oven with coals before she went into the smokehouse to retrieve the salt meat from a deer and prepared it for a roast venison. Then, she roasted the vegetables before she blotted them with water and let the soup cook. When she spiced the meat and wanted to sear it, Liana heard a commotion upstairs; it sounded like a lot of things crashing against the walls or on the floor and breaking.

Nobody was stupid enough to break into the Dark Castle and even if they were, they would have at least been quiet to steal undetected. Still, Liana wanted to know what was going on, so she put the pots and pans off the fire and stifled the flames before she went upstairs and traced the noise to the master's sitting room. There she found Rumpelstiltskin throwing his personal belongings through the air and breaking each and every one of them. When she entered, she had just enough time to duck from a thrown cup that smashed into pieces against the wall.

"What's going on?" Liana asked, honestly concerned. In the nearly hundred years she had already served him, she had never seen him so enraged yet at the same time confused and absentminded. It worried Liana for she had learnt that confusion usually made him unpredictable.

"Go back to you work!" Rumpelstiltskin yelled at her, which made her wince a little. Liana tensed up for she feared she had to do what he said without having a choice again but she realized she could still defy his orders without being out of air all of the sudden. She immediately tested her luck and stepped into the room completely to carefully approach the Dark One who was all out of objects to throw and destroy and thus, leaned with trembling hands against the table.

Despite Liana's fear, he might knock it over she positioned herself on the other side of the same wooden table, directly opposed to the Dark One, and queried, "What happened? She didn't come?"

She might have never felt love or heartbroken but she sure recognized a broken heart when she saw one: in this case, it wasn't hard to spot.

"Oh, she came," her master answered without looking at her but with a dark, angry and sad tone in his voice. It would have been cleverer at this point to turn around and leave the Dark One to himself now – everyone else would have surely done that – but she had never been one for cleverness so she asked again, "Then, what happened?"

"What do you care?" he growled and his eyes as well as his tone darkened. Liana gulped but still didn't walk away yet stayed to clarify, "I care because you are my master and I'd rather serve a content one than an unhappy and angry one. So, for the last time, what happened?"

"She came but she told me she wasn't going with me. She decided not to take the king's heart. She never loved me." She had never heard the Dark One sound so sad and vulnerable, she almost said how sorry she felt for him but the words got caught in her throat when he proceeded, "She ripped out her own heart for the sake of power."

At this, Liana swallowed hard, almost choked on her spittle and her eyes grew wide with disbelief and disgust. "She did what?" she exclaimed, "Is that even possible?"

"It is." He sounded so confused, cold, distant and lost, he didn't even realize that his servant showed interest in magic again, which Liana was painfully aware of.

"Why would someone do that?" Not she was surprised that Cora was the one to do it; that woman appeared more and more cold-hearted with every minute.

"To not let any emotion stand in the way of power. I told her so myself. Great power requires great sacrifices; she sacrificed her heart for it."

 _What a power-addict_ , Liana thought but just prevented herself from saying it aloud and instead asked, "You're not going to let her get away with it, are you?" Knowing the Dark One, he had made a deal with her and she needed to fulfill her end of the bargain, no matter how hard she tried to cheat him.

"I have to," came the broken answer from her master that took Liana by surprise, "I am a man who honors his agreements and in exchange for me teaching her magic all I claimed from her was my own child."

It didn't take a genius to put one and one together and figure out that that wasn't going to happen.

 _He really was in love with her_ , Liana realized but also kept that insight to herself; there was no need to rub it in.

"So, what are you gonna do?" she wanted to know.

"Nothing," the Dark one replied and finally looked at her, the defeat clearly visible in his eyes, "There's nothing I can do. She is going to marry the prince and I'm…no longer part of her life." Liana could still hear the sadness itching in his voice but there also laid a finality within it that told her it was the last thing he was going to say to the matter so she nodded understandingly and then asked, "Do you still want me to make dinner, milord?"

Rumpelstiltskin looked at her in confusion and blinked a few times to wipe away his surprise before he answered, "No, there won't be no need. Make something for yourself, clean up this mess and that would be it for today."

Liana bowed slightly and went to leave the room but before she could walk out the door her master inquired in his normal, high-pitched, almost childish voice, "Just out of curiosity, dearie, how did it feel to have magic used against you?"

"Well, terrible," Liana scoffed as if the answer should be obvious.

"What if I told you that your own magic could have gotten you out of there?"

She sighed. "I know. I tried."

The Dark One raised his eyebrows in astonishment. "Did you, now? What was your emotion?"

"I tried to use the destructiveness of panic."

He clicked his tongue disapprovingly. "You should have tried the effectivity of anger."

"I don't think so," she countered as she thought about what her last outburst of anger had done to her and left the room for good to return to the kitchen where she stirred up the fire to finish the soup. She washed the spices from the meat, rubbed it in salt again and brought it back to the smokehouse. Instead, she took the chicken she had beheaded and plucked this noon, and cooked it for chicken soup.

Once the simple meal was done and Liana had eaten two plates of it, she prepared a third plate and placed it in front of the door to the Dark One's bedchambers before she returned to the sitting room to clean up the mess Rumpelstiltskin had made there. She had just finished when she was again engulfed by a cloud of smoke and found herself on the dark meadow once more. In front of her stood Cora, still wearing her full-length, white coat and the aura of indifference and arrogance. Instinctively, Liana took a few steps back but was stopped when Cora raised her head and simply said, "No."

Again, Liana couldn't move but, as she noticed relieved, was still able to speak so she asked angry and determined, "What do you want?"

"Cocky," the other woman stated, "I'm not sure I like that with a servant."

"Well, gladly, I'm not your servant so I don't really give a damn."

"Allow me to contradict." And from beneath her cloak, Cora brought light Liana's heart she had taken. "But I do believe I made you my servant."

"I'm only serving one master at a time," Liana countered and she couldn't really believe she was thinking this but given the choice between the cold-hearted woman in front of her and the Dark One, she would always happily choose Rumpelstiltskin as her master.

Cora laughed out loud and the way she did gave away what little opinion she had of Liana. "Foolish, little girl. You don't have a choice. I am holding your heart, your life, within my hands and if you want to see the light of another day again, you will do what I ask of you."

Liana growled. She couldn't contradict to that since she had already made first-hand experience with being controlled by another person, the same who stood right in front of her right now, through her heart, but she had nothing to lose anymore, so she could dare to risk everything, "And what if I choose not to see the light of another day?"

"Then, all I have to do is squeeze." And with that fair warning, the other woman tightened the grip around her heart and did squeeze. Again, Liana felt this immeasurable pain that took her breath away and made her crumble to the ground. For as long as possible, she concealed her screams behind shut lips, not willing to give Cora the satisfaction of hearing her crying and begging, but the royal woman didn't let go yet only tightened her grip until Liana surrendered and let out a shriek that echoed across the meadow.

"Do you want me to stop?" Cora asked teasingly in a feigned sweet tone that made Liana want to throw up.

"I'd rather die tonight than to surrender to you mercy," she grunted under labored breaths before the other woman's tight grip around her heart stole the air out of her lungs.

"As you wish," was the last thing she heard from the royal bride before Liana lost consciousness and gave in to the darkness, welcoming death like an old friend with the final thought that would be reunited with her parents.

But such kindness was not granted her. Liana rose from the darkness surrounding her again and realized she was still on the meadow with Cora standing above her, mustering her with a dismissive look. Liana was confused as to why she was still alive and the other woman seemed to read that confusion in her eyes for she explained without being asked, "Oh, don't think I've gone soft. I simply can't kill you; the Dark One still needs you. Tell me why."

The younger woman scoffed. "Why should I tell you anything?"

"You must have thing for pain." And with an annoyed roll of her eyes, as if bored by the use of violence, she squeezed Liana's heart again, this time less hard but more persistent; the kind of pain that would easily become a constant companion without noticing.

"I told you," she let out between gritted teeth, "I'm not betraying my master."

"I'm the master of your heart," Cora pointed out with an arrogant smile, "So, please, do me a favor and don't betray me by answering one simple question: what do you do for Rumpelstiltskin?" And with each word, she squeezed harder, causing Liana to scream and wind on the floor. Rumpelstiltskin had never taken her dignity by making her ask for magic, she realized, this conceited, self-pleased woman did without even blinking. Liana wanted it to stop but giving is was not an option as long as she still had a little bit of self-esteem.

"You're strong," Cora noted, and all of a sudden released the pressure she was applying on Liana's heart so the younger woman could stand up. "I like that in a woman. Tell me what I'll have to do to buy your loyalty."

Liana couldn't prevent herself from letting out a single laugh. "You honestly think, after what you just did to me, you could ever buy my loyalty? Uh-uh, not a chance in hell."

The older woman sighed. "Too bad. Then I have no other choice but to go back to trying to break you."

Liana's eyes widened in fear. She wasn't keen on going through any more pain inflicted on her by Cora although she had to admit she had expected this to happen – and the only way she knew to get out of this, was surrendering, and she wouldn't do that even if her life depended on it, which it did, in a way.

Cora saw her fear and smiled sweetly. "You can make this easier on yourself. All I want to know is why the Dark One keeps you around."

Liana's thoughts raced a hundred paces a second; she felt torn between her fear of pain and humiliation and her fear and disgust for this woman in front of her as well as her loyalty to the Dark One. What could she do? Cora had said herself she wouldn't kill her but the use of torture proved to be an even more effective threat than death for now Liana knew she would live to feel the pain and she was even more scared. But before she could make any decision – neither rational nor emotional – Cora squeezed and Liana screamed and gave in, "Fine, fine!" She hated herself for doing this but at least the pain ceased.

"I'm his housekeeper. I clean his castle, I take care of his grounds, I cook his meals and I do his laundry. I'm a maid-of-all-work, so to say," she explained with a trembling voice.

"Why are you with him?"

"I made a deal with him." She hesitated, then decided to answer the next question before it was asked, "He protected my family in exchange for my eternal obedience."

"Eternal?" Cora raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"Yes, eternal. I'm serving him forever."

"How much time has already passed?"

Liana breathed out nosily, thinking back. "I stopped keeping track a while ago, but I guess we must be approaching the first century."

"So your family is long dead but you still keep your word to the Dark One?" The other woman obviously didn't believe her but the brunette only shrugged, "As I said, I made a deal with him. And I honor my agreements."

Cora nodded in surprise and admiration. "And as I said, I'd like to know how to buy that loyalty of yours."

"I'm not breaking my deal with the Dark One. See, I don't cross him like you did. If you want me, you'll have to buy me from him, and something tells me, he's no longer making deals with you."

"You need to learn when to better hold your tongue or one day you might lose it."

"Oh, but how am I gonna answer your questions without it?"

Cora gave a hearty laugh that still sounded fake since Liana knew she had also ripped out her own heart. "Oh, you're good," the regal woman admitted, "So, how about we make a deal?"

Liana tilted her head slightly and raised her eyebrows in disbelief but was willing to hear the other woman out, "I need eyes inside. Now that I've, as you said, crossed the Dark One, I can't trust him. But you, you could keep an eye on him for me."

"What's in it for me?" She wasn't going to take the deal for it would mean she would have to cross the Dark One as well but she at least wanted to know all the assets and drawbacks.

"You would get your heart back."

And all of a sudden, the deal had become promising and tempting but then, Liana remembered that this woman had even backstabbed the Dark One so she would certainly not make hold before her, a simple peasant girl. So it didn't matter whether she took the deal or not, her heart wouldn't find its way back into her chest all too soon.

"And what if I don't agree to your deal?" she challenged, "'Cause you did say you wouldn't kill me so what's your bargain?"

"Isn't your heart bargain enough?"

Liana shrugged. "Frankly not. See, I don't believe I get it back, whether I take your deal or not."

"Oh." Cora mustered her from head to toe with admiring eyes. "Cocky, strong-minded, clever. You're not the typical servant. How does the Dark One deal with you?"

Again, the younger woman only shrugged. "As long as I fulfill my debt and duty, he doesn't really mind."

"I see." The royal didn't seem to believe her but let the issue drop and went back to her deal, "So, am I right assuming you won't take my offer?" She appeared offended but Liana almost enjoyed that, having a hard time containing her grin, and answered in a light-hearted tone, "Not as long as you can't give me something better than a promise you're not gonna keep anyway."

"All right," Cora gave in, "But I'm gonna keep asking. We haven't seen the last of each other." And she dismissed Liana, sending her back to the Dark Castle, where she went straight to her bedchamber. In front of her door, she found a piece of parchment that read the simple note _Thank you_ , and Liana knew she had made the right decision to not betray the Dark One any further.

But Cora made good on her word and for the next couple of weeks, she summoned Liana to the dark meadow to ask her whether she had changed her mind, still only offering to give her heart back in return. And Liana kept on refusing, enduring torture and pain, constant bickering and the annoying presence of the, as she learnt, married into royal. She couldn't say that she wasn't tempted to accept the deal once or twice, especially during the times, her heart was squeezed relentlessly, but only ever always needed to remind herself that Cora was hypocritical and mendacious. And while spending an eternity with the Dark One wasn't exactly an alluring prospect, at least she knew what to expect and didn't disagree completely. All the while, Liana was only waiting for Rumpelstiltskin to find out she was forced to leave the castle since she couldn't tell him herself – and one day, he did.

Cora had just sent her back after she had dismissed her deal once more and she materialized in the sitting room, where the Dark One sat at the dining table, obviously awaiting her.

"I tried to call you today, "he stated, his tone scolding.

"I'm sorry, master, I must have been outside," she lamely excused, sniffing her chance to finally let him know what was going on.

"Don't try to fool me, dearie, I know you have been away from the castle's grounds, which actually should be impossible for you."

Liana gulped at his harshness but began to lay the trail of clues, "There is…a chance." Rumpelstiltskin looked at her, puzzled and honestly disbelieving, so she continued, "If a part of me…is already elsewhere." She had figured that out when she had read _The History of Magic_ , wherein was written that different forms of magic could overpower each other. She assumed that her own magic, leading her back to her heart, overpowered the spell the Dark One had cast to keep her within his ground's boundaries.

Infuriated by her revelation, he jumped up, toppling over the chair, he had been sitting on, approached her with hasty steps and reached inside her chest, looking for her heart but grasping at nothing. He pulled out his hand again and asked furiously, "Where is it? Where's your heart?"

Liana jumped back at his sudden outburst – she had expected him to be mad but not outraged like that – but she pulled herself together and answered calmly, "I can't tell you. You need to figure it out but you were there when it was taken."

Realization hit Rumpelstiltskin. "Cora."

The young woman couldn't nod in confirmation but the hint she had given made it more than obvious.

"She never gave your heart back. She wanted to use you," Rumpelstiltskin conjectured, still agitated hut slowly calming down and being able to draw the right conclusions. "Where is she? What did she want from you?"

"She offered me a deal: my heart for insight on you." Liana was surprised that she could voice out the sentence but she figured the command to obey the Dark One, Cora had first given, still stood and forced her forced her to tell him the truth.

"You didn't take the deal?" Rumpelstiltskin sounded confused; obviously, he had expected her to turn on him to get her heart back. She couldn't blame him; he was suspicious by nature, that much was evident.

"I'm only serving one master at a time," she repeated the words she had said to Cora the first time they had met alone.

"Where is she now?"

"I don't know. She always summons me to the meadow where she took my heart in the first place but I don't know if she lives in the nearby castle."

"I need you to call her."

"What?" Liana's eyes widened in shock and disbelief and her jaw dropped. "How am I supposed to do that?"

"Use your magic and connect to your heart," the Dark One insisted, clearly angry that she had always refused to let him teach her magic. But Liana remembered how she had been able to feel the roots of her magic in her heart and she believed they were still there, even though her heart didn't rest in her chest anymore, so she needed to locate it, wherever it was, through the feeling of magic. She went to look inside for her inner center and was astounded how quickly she was able to make out her beating heart in a small casket hidden in a wardrobe in a large bedchamber in the castle located on top of the hill from which one had an excellent view on the dark meadow.

"I found it," she informed Rumpelstiltskin without opening her eyes, "It's in the castle."

"Excellent. Now send a message to Cora."

"How?"

"Let me guide you." Without any prior warning, he placed his could hand on her chest, and Liana had to suppress the urge to wince back as he instructed, "Now repeat after me: _'Cora, I know you have my maid's heart. I want it back. You have until sunrise to bring it to me.'_ "

Liana repeated his instruction word by word but couldn't even finish before she heard Cora's feigned sweet yet harsh voice behind her, "You've never told me you have magic of your own."

"It's none of your business, dearest Cora, " Rumpelstiltskin answered instead of her and approached the regal woman with grand strides, "She's my servant and you have no right to her or her heart."

Liana was sure he had his own ulterior motives for demanding her heart back from Cora but it still took her by surprise that he stood up for her – most masters usually didn't.

"I beg to differ, my dear Rumple," the other woman smugly contradicted, "but she is no longer your servant."

"She stayed true to me. I think that decides that question, dearie."

"Ah, you see, only because I let her. You know all too well that I could make her turn on you easily."

Liana didn't like the sound of that statement, especially since she had already experienced the power of controlling one's heart, still she wanted to assume the same thing Rumpelstiltskin did, "But you didn't, and that tells me, you can't."

"We could argue about that all we like, Rumple, fact is, I hold your servant's heart and I'm not gonna give it back because I want her. The only question is, what do you want in return?"

"And just what exactly makes you think you're in any position to strike a deal with me?"

It calmed Liana tremendously to hear that the Dark One didn't even consider making another deal with Cora.

"The simple fact that you need your servant's loyalty, and you can't be sure of that as long as I have her heart."

"Not enough." With those words, Rumpelstiltskin dismissed Cora and sent her back to her palace. However, he was not able to summon Liana's heart, probably due to a protection spell Cora had cast on it, and in the following days, Cora made Liana's life a living hell. She used every power and control she could gain over the young woman's heart, even forced her to beg Rumpelstiltskin to send her into the newly royal's service, which made her hate herself and Cora even more. Finally, both of them, Liana and the Dark One, accepted the truth that there was no use in resisting that devilish woman and begrudgingly, he gave in to Cora's wished and Liana was forced to begin her services with a new mistress.

* * *

So, this is where we leave Liana now. I hope it was unexpected and you're all looking forward to see how she is going to deal with Cora in the future.

Stay around and have a nice time out there!


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Once Upon a Time or any of its recognizable characters, only the character of Liana and some of the events that play out.

I am so, so sorry for this huge delay, really, I can't tell you how sorry I am! But I got stuck with a traditional case of writers block and haven't written anything within the last four weeks. I just didn't know how to write this chapter, what to put in, what to leave out. I'm still not sure I'm okay with how it turned out so reviews - compliments as well as constructive criticsm - are requested even more badly.

I hope you can forgive me for how long I have kept you waiting with this one and I hope you like this chapter better than I do, but nonetheless, enjoy reading!

 **Warning:** A lot of yelling and screaming, a bit of violence and a ton of emotional moments.

 **6th Chapter:**

Whenever Liana thought she had truly lost everything there was for to lose, life found yet another way to screw her over. That she was now standing in front of the iron gates of the palace located on the dark meadow merely proved that. Rumpelstiltskin had just transported here and she had climbed up the hill heightening the castle to make the people look up to their kings and queens and royalty look down on their subjects. Now she mustered her new home, her new cage, and took in all of its dark glory. Before she knocked on the small wooden door carved into the metal to meet her new endeavor she took a deep breath and subconsciously, her thoughts wandered back to her last moments spent in the Dark Castle, where – and she couldn't believe she was even thinking this – she would rather be right now.

* * *

 _Liana was just in the middle of beating and dusting the curtains in the main hall when she heard loud grunts and the clattering of glass from the sitting room next door. With a confused look at the closed doors, she abandoned her task and descended the ladder to open the grand oak doors and had just enough time to see the Dark One hit his furnishings with a cane, breaking glass and wood and demolishing everything in this room before she was thrown out by a magical wave. The woman, who still appeared young, hit the cold, hard stone ground and groaned in pain but immediately got up again to return to the sitting room and demanded to know, "What's going on now?" She sounded more annoyed than she had intended to but wasn't about to apologize as her master finally stopped destroying his possessions, looked at her with indifferent eyes and calmly announced, "You're dismissed."_

 _"What is that supposed to mean?" Liana asked with little confusion and mostly anger in her voice for had a distinct idea what the Dark One was telling her._

 _"You're dismissed. I no longer need your services. You can go wherever your heart leads you to, and I think we both know where that is, dearie," he clarified and just turned away from her._

 _"That's it?" the brunette yelled at him with little regard to what was appropriate anymore. "You're just gonna send me away to that snake of a woman? After all those years, you're just gonna dismiss me like that? Don't you think I deserve a little more?"_

 _"You deserve nothing! You are a servant and you are serving whoever you are told to!" And with another swing of his cane, he hit his mirror, which shattered into a million shards of glass._

 _Liana looked at the remains of the looking glass in horror, as she knew a broken mirror was a bad omen and her master wouldn't just break it like that; she should be worried about him. But then, something snapped in her and she couldn't feel anything aside from anger so she only screamed again, "Is that all you can do? Breaking things? You're not the only one suffering from Cora's games! Just think about me for a second and consider that she is playing those games with my heart! Do you think I like that? I'd prefer my heart back in my chest, where it belongs, and I would happily serve you forever if that meant I don't have to be a slave to her every bidding!"_

 _"It's not my fault…"_

 _Liana wasn't finished by a long shot so she cut Rumpelstiltskin short, "That's exactly what it is. You're the one who taught her how to take hearts, you're the one who summoned me to that meadow, you're the one who let her take my heart, and you're the one who was fooled by her! Everything that is happening right now is your fault! But you can't take the blame, can you? You just have to pin it on me and pretend like I'm the one responsible for this mess. Well, guess what, I'm not taking your burden, this one's for you to carry!"_

 _For a short moment, Liana could read panic caused by realization in his eyes but then, he just flipped back to anger, knocked over the massive wooden table with bare hands and shattered the windowpanes with magic. "Don't think you can talk to me like that!"_

 _A few shards brushed Liana's arms and face but she simply ignored them and yelled back, "I can! You just dismissed me, remember? So as far as I am concerned I'm no longer your servant and you're no longer my master!"_

 _With each sentence they had spoken, both of them had constantly drawn closer to the other one until they were finally merely inches apart, staring into each other's eyes and being hit by the truth and finality that laid in Liana's sentence. They were no longer master and servant, he had released her from their deal, she was no longer bound to him; after a good century they were parting ways. Neither of them was prepared for the loud silence that followed filled with every unspoken word, every unspoken admission neither of them cared to make. They only kept looking into each other's eyes and found everything they needed to know. Unspoken words didn't matter anymore for they knew this parting took a toll on both of them. Neither of them was happy with this turn of events, neither of them had chosen how this had turned out and neither of them could walk away from it easily. After a whole century, they had gotten used to each other's presence, had relied on each other, had trusted each other, had seen the darkest of each other, and had found a mutual basis of respect for each other, and now all of this was gone in an instant. Liana didn't believe what she found in the Dark One's gaze and she knew he would never say it aloud, but there was no need for that, either, for she felt in her heart – however far away it might be – that it was true and that was enough._

 _Simultaneously, they took a step back, all of their anger blown out of the open windows. The loaded silence turned into an awkward one when neither of them knew what to say. Liana gulped and, for a moment, considered apologizing but decided against it for she didn't feel the need to apologize for speaking her mind. The Dark One cleared his throat and nodded once in acknowledgement. She understood the gesture; he accepted everything she had said as the truth that it was, he even agreed with her, and the brunette tried to hide her astonishment as well as a sad smile but failed miserably at both._

 _For the longest time, they simply looked at each other, in silence and at a loss of words, neither one willing to avert their eyes, until Liana began balancing from her toes to her heels and back and finally said, "Well, I suppose I should pack my things."_

 _"Yes, dearie, I suppose you should." Although his choice of words was just like it had always been, his tone was different, quiet, low and glumly. Liana bit her lip as she turned around and left the sitting room, heading for her chamber in the east wing to gather her belongings._

* * *

The wooden door was opened at the second knock and Liana faced a boy looking even younger than she did and found herself mustering him with disbelief in her eyes. He returned her gaze with an equal expression and yet again, Liana found herself at a loss of words. She had never been in such a situation before – she had never voluntarily gone to her next master, they had always collected her and taken her to their homes and her new workplace – so she didn't know what to say to the young servant in front of her.

"Err," she stuttered clumsily, "My name's Liana…and I think Princess Cora…will want to see me." She felt as dumb as she probably looked, not being able to properly say what she wanted but the footman ignored the fact and simply nodded, stepping aside to allow her to enter the giant square court yard.

She looked around warily, not feeling comfortable at all, but still smiled at the memory that when she first stood in front of the grand gates of the Dark Castle she didn't want to enter, either. Then she sighed as she wished herself back despite her knowledge that there was no way she would never return there. The young boy continued to muster her with supposedly inconspicuous side-glances she noticed nonetheless but didn't say a word, which made Liana feel even more wary around him. Why didn't he say anything? Was he mute? Or had Cora inculcated him with not saying a word to anyone? She did believe Cora was intimidating enough to do just that. Still, it would have been soothing to have him say something, even if it were just pleasantries.

They entered the castle and he led her down a corridor to their right and straight into a sitting room with a most comfortable looking set of couches.

"Wait here," he instructed and surprised Liana turned around to him and blurted, "Oh, you do speak. I'm so glad."

The young footman gulped, bowed to her deeply and hushed out of the room. For a short moment, Liana wondered if she had said something wrong before she figured her words either might have come out too harsh or that she was not supposed to talk to him at all but she just shrugged and sat down on one of the couches. They did not only look comfortable, she realized, they indeed were so Liana nestled in, leaned back, let out a deep sigh that didn't release her anxiousness, looked at her small, worn-out cloth bag and remembered packing what little she possessed into it.

* * *

 _Liana stood in her rather queenly bedchamber in the Dark Castle and stuffed a plain servant's dress, her comb, hair ties and two of her favorite books into her bag made up of a blanket pulled together by a flexible, golden straw the Dark One had once given her. For the first time she realized how severe her situation really was. She was leaving Rumpelstiltskin and the Dark Castle, the person she had served, the place she had called a home for nearly hundred years. When she had first come here, she couldn't imagine spending eternity in this place but now it was hard to think that she would leave and never return._

 _With a sad sigh, she looked through the room once more, opened her closet and the drawers of her bedside table to check if she left any contents she might need at her next workplace behind, put the necklace her mother had given her as a last gift around her neck and laid the bed for the last time. Then, she grabbed her bag, picked up a book from her bedside table and with a final nod, left her chamber and closed the doors. Bag and book in her hands, she went back to the sitting room, where the Dark One had restored everything to its original state and now sat at the dining table with his fingers interlaced. She took a deep breath, straightened her back and faced him with a hopefully composed look upon her face before she threw the book she held on the table for him to muster it with an interested look._

 _"I'd like to keep it," she announced, "if I may."_

 _"_ The History of Magic _," he read the title and Liana felt uncomfortable for it revealed that despite everything she used to say she couldn't let go of magic. "I thought you had read it from cover to cover at least a couple of times."_

 _"It's a good book," she simply stated, getting more nervous the more the Dark One mustered the book and her in turns._

 _"You still want to learn about magic, dearie."_

 _Her first instinct was to deny that observation but she saw no use in it for she had to admit that Rumpelstiltskin was right so she only made a gesture that was neither a nod nor a shake of the head._

 _"You should have let me teach you. As I've told you before, dearie, you would have made an excellent student."_

 _"And we wouldn't be in this situation right now, yes," Liana surprisingly admitted, "But no, I'm still not interested in learning to control the magic inside of me, I just want to know what I'm dealing with." Again, the young woman was surprised with the truth that laid in her sentence but decided to gloss it over with a shrug and the repetition of her question, "May I keep the book?"_

 _The Dark One hesitated, then he finally said, "Well, I suppose you can."_

 _Liana nodded her thanks and put the book into her makeshift bag before she turned back to her former master and realized that it was time to say goodbye and she had no idea how to that._

 _"Well," she began hesitantly but let the sentence hang in the air unfinished and just looked at Rumpelstiltskin insecurely. She had never thought she would say goodbye to him, thus she had never thought about what she would say when the time came but now here they were, standing at the crossroad, either one choosing another path though not voluntarily. She thought about thanking him – after all, he had freed her from her parents' landowner and had ensured her parents had a good life –, she thought about recapping their century together, she thought about offering to come back the first chance she got but it all sounded dull and unimaginative so she said neither of it. The Dark One, on the other hand, mustered her, too, and also seemed to think about the appropriate thing to say but as if they silently agreed that words wouldn't be enough to show their mutual respect for each other, they both took a step back and bowed. He only bent down his head while Liana curtseyed before him but it was both a sign of respect that represented their former relationship and it said more than words could have ever done._

 _As they both straightened up again, he cleared his throat and asked, "Maybe you could deliver a message to Cora for me?"_

 _Liana knitted her eyebrows and waited for him to continue, "Tell her she has not won yet. The game is still on."_

 _The young woman couldn't stop herself from grinning despite the seriousness of the situation and happily replied, "With pleasure."_

 _The Dark One mirrored her grin and for a moment, it was like Liana was not really leaving forever before they remembered why she should take a message to Cora and they straightened their faces, took a deep breath and looked into each other's eyes with a firmness and finality that surprised them both._

 _"Goodbye, Liana," he said very seriously and once again bowed his head slightly._

 _"Goodbye, Rumple," she answered and mirrored his gesture before he magically sent her to the dark meadow with a simple flick of his wrist._

* * *

As soon as Cora entered the sitting room, Liana jumped up from the couch, straightened her dress and back and faced the royal woman with an indifferent look upon her face. Cora, on the other hand, looked surprised and astounded to see Liana at her castle but found her composure again right away and mocked, "Oh, what a lovely surprise to see you here, Liana. I assume you're here because Rumple has reconsidered my offer?"

The younger woman scoffed and barely managed to suppress the urge to roll her eyes before she countered, "You didn't really leave him or me another choice, did you now?"

"You weren't cooperating, were you?"

Again, Liana scoffed. "Yeah, well, did you expect me to?"

"No," Cora admitted bluntly, "But we've got to work on that, now that you are my servant."

A single amused laughter escaped the other brunette's mouth although she was very aware of her situation and felt highly uncomfortable with it but she figured she shouldn't let Cora know.

"You really don't know what's appropriate, do you?" the royal bride scolded her and with a wink of her finger, wiped the smile out of Liana's face magically, "We have to work on that, too. So let's not waste any time. Follow me now, chop-chop."

Liana didn't like the royal bride's tone at all but seeing that she was her servant now she didn't really have much of a choice except to growlingly follow her on her way out of the sitting room, down a long hall and upstairs to the royal chambers. There she started to explain, "You will be my personal maid from now on, which means you will stay close to me at all times. You will dress me, you will clean my chamber, you will bring the laundry downstairs and freshly cleaned clothes to my chamber, you will mend my dresses and you will clean my jewelries. You will serve me my meals, you will accompany me on my trips to other royal and noble families and you will heed every other request I have for you without question or complain. I trust you have already learnt how to comply with most of those tasks during your services at the Dark Castle, the only thing I am really concerned about is your behavior towards your superiors, but don't worry, we will have fixed that very soon. Remember, I still have your heart; if you don't obey me, I can easily make you and that will be much less pleasant for you than it already is, do you understand?"

Liana stifled a deep sigh and instead cleared her throat and replied, "Of course."

"Good. Here are your servants' quarters." Cora pointed at a door on their left. "You will have to share it with my husband's personal maid but I shall warn you, fraternizing is not tolerated in this castle so I recommend you to stay to your tasks and don't waste your time with making friends with this girl." Liana didn't miss the royal's harsh tone or her warning glare but decided to ignore it and instead just nod and let Cora continue, "Directly opposite to your quarters are my chambers so I expect you to be answering my call immediately at any time, understood?"

Once again, the young woman nodded obediently and let out a silent sigh she couldn't hold back but didn't want to draw Cora's attention to. The other brunette didn't seem to notice Liana's discomfort or she ignored it as she proceeded undeterred, "Excellent. You are dismissed for now. Retrieve to your quarters and do whatever you have to do to settle in but await my next orders, I don't like to be kept waiting."

"Of course, Your Highness," Liana answered but couldn't quite banish the mocking tone from her voice as she wasn't used to and couldn't stand to be treated with such haughtiness. Cora shot another warning glare at her and Liana immediately bowed slightly to her new employer moving backwards to the door of her room.

"And another thing," the royal woman added before Liana disappeared behind the door, "I can't stand people with foul odor so make sure you always wash well. I don't like to have one of your filthy hairs in my supper or on my clothes so always braid it. And I can't stand back talk so don't even think about it."

That was the last straw and Liana couldn't keep herself from snapping back, "Well, I can easily comply with the first two points but you have to get used to back talk because no matter how much you threaten and torture you won't get that out of my bones."

Cora leaned in close, her eyes as dark as the shadows, and threatened in a deep, low voice, "We'll see about that."

The other brunette held her stare with as much strength and pride as she could muster when confronted with a threat like that for she knew Cora was not the person to talk empty. Then she turned to her quarters but almost instantly turned back as she remembered, "Oh, one more thing. The Dark One sends you a message. You haven't won yet, the game is still on, and my bet is on him."

"Careful, dear," Cora answered in a tone just as equally dark as before, "Don't test your luck with me or it might run out sooner than you think."

"What are you gonna do to me? Torture me? Humiliate me? Kill me? Go ahead, bring it on. Because I have been through all of that and look at me, I'm still here, still unbroken. And I got nothing to lose."

She was playing a chancy game but the stakes weren't as high as anyone might suggest because, as she had said, she had nothing left to lose so she was in position to put it all at stake – a position she felt like she had been in her entire life yet she had constantly lost more. But not today; today she couldn't lose anything but regain a little bit of her freedom, and she knew she had when Cora said, "Don't overdo it." And she turned away without another word.

Liana couldn't suppress the victorious grin that spread on her face as Cora walked away and she finally entered her new room. Inside she only found two narrow bed with little space between them, two bedside tables, a closet and a dusty, small window that hardly let any daylight in. Perched on the bed closer to the window sat a young girl who was polishing a pair of elegant black male boots with a greased cloth. As soon as she heard the door closing, she jumped up dropping the shoes as well as the cloth and turning around to face the intruder.

"Hi," Liana smiled shyly, honestly sorry to have startled the girl so much, "I'm Liana, I'm the princess's new personal maid and…I'm sorry about that." She pointed at the fallen boots before she closed the short distance and picked them up for the other maid. The young girl simply looked at her dumbfounded, took the boots back but said them down again immediately and continued to muster Liana with wide eyes.

"Is something wrong?" the brunette asked after a few moments of silence and staring and only then, the shorter woman with pixie-cut hair seemed to find her voice again, "Yes, yes, of course. It's just…you seem an awful lot cheerful for someone who has just been employed as the princess's personal maid."

Liana couldn't stifle the laughter. "I see. But you know, it will take a lot more than her to scare me. I've been with the Dark One for the last…couple of years so…I'm good at dealing with…difficult personalities."

"Oh." The surprise and astonishment in the other maid's eyes made way for respect and admiration. "I see. Well, you certainly will need those nerves dealing with Cora but…" Her eyes widened again as she seemed to realize something. "Oh, my! I have completely forgotten to introduce myself! I'm Dorothea but everyone calls me Dor and I'm Prince Henry's personal maid. And we probably shouldn't waste any time with pleasantries but get you ready in case Her Highness wants you."

"Get me ready?" Liana repeated and looked down at plain servant's dress for any stains that would justify a change of clothes but couldn't find any.

"Have you washed properly today? The princess doesn't let people who smell anywhere near her. And we should probably braid your hair. A simple ponytail won't do for Her Highness," Dor explained but Liana vindicated, "I have just bathed this morning."

"Oh, well," the younger woman backed down in surprise, "I suppose this will do. But we wear our hair in braids or as a bun in this castle, no exceptions unless you are a boy."

Liana nodded understandingly, put her bag on the unoccupied bed, picked out her comb and hair ties, redid her high ponytail, wrapped it around itself and fixed the bun with another hair tie. Then she looked at Dor for confirmation and the other maid nodded approvingly, "This will do."

Just as Liana was about to ask Dor about her employer, the prince, they both winced at a loud and shrill noise, Liana had never heard before in her life. She turned around and saw that next to the door hung two smalls bells and that one of them was ringing. Supposedly, those bells signalized that they were called by the prince or the princess but Liana could only assume for the tailor master's shop was small enough to call any of the seamstresses and the Dark One had always magically summoned her when he had a new task for her. With ac curious look, she turned back to Dor, who immediately started to explain, "It's the Prince, he's calling for me, I should go." Said it, and left their small room.

As soon as Liana was alone, she let out an agitated sigh and sat down on her bed that felt stiff and hard compared to the one Rumpelstiltskin had provided for her. She looked around in the quarter and only then started to realize that this was her new home now and that it was going to be very different from the Dark Castle. Dor seemed nice, though, maybe she would turn out to be a real friend, something Liana hadn't had in a very long time. The last time she had called anyone a friend was when she was playing with the miller's son on his father's or her parents' farmland; there had been talks of betrothing them to one another as it was often done among childhood friends but that never came to pass as she was taken by her parents' landowner. And although she had got along well with her fellow seamstresses, she had never counted them as friends as they were only bound together by the same miserable situation, herself worse than the others as she had no way of getting out. And during her time with the Dark One, she hadn't had much company at all, mostly it was only her and Rumpelstiltskin and he had been her employer, not her friend. The prospect of actually having someone to talk to every now and then was somewhat soothing, considering the gravity of her situation, but then she remembered Cora's threat that fraternizing was not tolerated and she wondered if Dor had received the same instructions by Prince Henry. And while she was willing to defy Cora's orders on purpose, she didn't know if Dor would do the same.

As she heard the shrill chiming of the bell again and realized that it wasn't Prince Henry's bell, she figured Cora called her and hurried out of the room to take on her first assignment. Everything else, like whether or not she would make friends with Dor, whether or not she would survive being Cora's servant, would sort itself out as time went by, she thought to herself as she carefully knocked on the giant oak doors to Cora's chamber.

* * *

Yay, I'm done with this chapter, I'm so glad!

As I said, I'm still not fully satisfied with it but I'm just glad I got to write at all so you and me, we all have to deal with how it turned out. I sure hope you like it so let me know in a review or a PM or whatever you like.

Chapter Seven is going to be a piece of work, too! I'm planning to bring a few of Regina's childhood memories in as Liana remembers them being Cora's personal servant and I have a few idea but I'm open to any suggestions. If you guys have any idea about that, just write me and I'll see what I'll make of it!

Stay safe and have a good time out there, I will hopefully be back a little sooner with the next chapter!


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Once Upon a Time or any of its recognizable characters, just the character of Liana and some of the events that play out.

I know I'm a little late with this update...again and this time I don't really have an excuse for it except that I wasn't in the mood to write the last week. And I know I promised a few of Regina's childhood memories from Liana's perspective in this chapter but that's not gonna happen, either. I tried to but somehow I couldn't make it sound right so instead, we're taking a closer look into the relationship between Liana and the other characters at the castle.

Thank you for your kind words, I really appreciate them even if I don't really reply to them and at Jessica1209/Malevolent Women Rock: I haven't forgotten your Prompt, I'm writing on it! It's just turned out to be more complicated to write as I thought so I ahve decided to turn it into a Two- or maybe even Three-Shot but I still don't know when I am going to publish the first chapter and I'm hugely sorry for the long wait.

Enjoy reading and as always, reviews - compliments as well as constructive critism - are cherished.

 **Warning:** I don't think I really have a trigger warning for this chapter...but just for the heck of it I will say _evil thoughts_...

 **7th Chapter:**

Again, the door was opened at her second knock and Liana looked in the face of another young boy, this time he looked slightly older than she did, which made him appear a little older than twenty. He immediately made way for her and Liana entered the large queenly bedchamber, which reminded her of the one she had been allowed to use in the Dark Castle, and bowed to her new mistress before she noticed the other person present.

"This is her?" the man asked and mustered her from head to toe with raised eyebrows and a disapproving look upon his face. Liana had the desire to spit at his feet and not bow to him but she recognized him as the King by his highly elegant garments with golden threads weaved into it and held her position a bit longer for him.

"This is her," Cora confirmed and gave her the same dismissive mustering as if to warn her to behave in front of father-in-law and Liana thought of all the things she could say and do right now to humiliate Cora as she had humiliated her. But, despite it all, she still knew where her place was and she didn't know how the King would react to such blunt form of disobeying so it was highly possible that she would afflict more damage to herself than to Cora. And thus, she swallowed all the nasty things coming to her mind just too easily and bowed a little deeper before straightening her back and subserviently asking, "You have ringed for me, what can I do for Your Highnesses?"

Both royals simply ignored her as the King continued to take in her appearance as if trying to decide how to label her, at which Liana had to suppress the urge to scoff. Without taking his eyes from her, the King asked Cora, "Where did you find her?"

"She was once the Dark One's maid. I coaxed her away from his service."

That was certainly one way to put it, Liana thought ironically and had to suppress the urge to scoff again at the ridiculousness of Cora's statement.

The King raised his eyebrows even higher and his head snapped to focus Cora with a serious look of worry in his eyes. "Can she be trusted?"

"Oh, yes, without a doubt."

 _Only because you have my heart_ , Liana added in mind and looked at the ground to hide the rolling of her eyes.

"I will have Mrs. Asbury pay her a little extra attention during her first weeks with us, just in case," the King decided nonetheless and Liana wondered what he expected her to do, report back to the Dark One she no longer served? Was it common for servants to spy on their masters? Liana knew she was bound to learn some of Cora's most personal secrets as her maid and she assumed that in such a large castle with such a high number of servants, there was bound to be some gossiping but she had never expected it to leave the castle's walls. For the first time, it occurred to her that she might lack experience in working for an actual royal – the Dark One might be a very powerful and feared sorcerer but not a royal even though he lived in a castle – and she wondered if that would prove to be to her advantage or disadvantage.

"If you believe that to be necessary, my King," Cora agreed with a slight bow of her head and Liana couldn't believe she actually witnessed Cora to be submissive to someone. Automatically, her eyebrows raised and she fought to keep the grin from spreading on her face but one evil side-glance from Cora was enough to let her regain control over her facial features.

"I believe a precaution is never overestimated. Now," With those words, he quickly turned his attention back to Liana and eyed her as if she was nothing more than an insect squashed under his foot. And he was the first to make Liana feel like she actually needed to take a step back and hide in the corner; not even Rumpelstiltskin with all his fearful magic had intimidated her like that. She swallowed hard but stood her ground as she had never been one to back down but her palms started sweating and her fingers began to twitch as she would have liked to get away from the King's gaze. "What do you know about her?" he inquired. Clearly, the question was directed at Cora but he didn't stop staring at Liana, which made her feel even more uncomfortable.

"Frankly, not much," Cora admitted, "She made a deal with the Dark One that forced her into his services but she was very loyal to him. It was that loyalty that has drawn me to her and made me decide to make her into my personal maid."

That was surprisingly little, Liana realized. Either she was leaving out many details or she had just never picked them up in the first place during her their frequent talks on the dark meadow and her attempts to persuade Liana to change over to her services voluntarily.

"How long has she been with the Dark One?"

"I don't know for sure. But given her apparent young age, I assume it cannot have been too long."

Now Liana knew that the royal bride was lying for she distinctly remembered telling Cora about her eternal debt with Rumpelstiltskin but for some reason, the other woman didn't want the King to know about it. But then again, she had not told Dor about that, either, she shrugged and figured, whatever the reason, she would find out soon enough. In the meantime, she was very annoyed at the way Cora and the King were talking about her with her present. So when the middle-aged man addressed another question at the Princess and not at her, she couldn't bite back her comment anymore, "Excuse me, your Highnesses, but if you just want to talk about me and not to me and there is nothing else I can do for you, then I could just leave." With her thumbs, she pointed at the door in her back as she looked at both royals with a questioning look. She didn't miss the other present servant's dumbfounded face or the way Cora and the King were mustering her disapprovingly but she had always been one to make her point and speak her mind.

Then, the King turned to his daughter-in-law and asked frowning, "Is she always so rude?"

"Yes," Cora sighed but quickly added with a reassuring smile, "But I'm working on it." Then, she turned to Liana, "And there is indeed something you could do for us…"

The King, however, interrupted her by addressing Liana directly for the first time since she had entered the room, "Would you like to add something, maid?" His tone clearly scolded her for interfering into his talk with the princess as it was indeed inappropriate but his question seemed genuine so Liana swallowed all mockery that might have otherwise sleazed its way into her tone and answered subserviently but determined, "Yes. First of all, my name is Liana. Then, you asked for origin. I am a simple farmer's daughter, who grew up on secluded farm with her parents. Indeed, it was a deal that brought me into the Dark One's services but I have been there for quite some time before I crossed paths with your now daughter-in-law. However, you needn't to be worried about my loyalties as they lie completely with those who I serve. Finally, if you don't mind, I would rather not listen to that, which is said about me by the ones who I must serve, so unless my services are needed by thee I would like to retrieve to my quarters now."

"Well, well, you are courageous, I must grant you that," the King acknowledged, his tone much friendlier, "But I see that Princess Cora wasn't joking when she said she needed to teach you manners so I remind you now once that it is not your place to make demands or interrupt royal conversations. I hope this was the only time I was to witness such insubordination or the next one will have more severe consequences, am I clear on that, maid?"

Liana curtseyed and refrained from asking him to call her by her name as he might see this as another _insubordination_ and she wasn't keen on being punished on her first day of work.

"But since you asked," the King added before he completely turned back to his daughter-in-law, "Me and the Princess want some tea. Lavender tea with honey on the side and hurry, if you please."

Again, Liana curtseyed but the King didn't pay her attention long enough to even see so she just turned on her heel and scurried out of the room and downstairs into the kitchen to find a maid to prepare the tea and a small pot of honey. With the tray with elegant china cups and saucers, the steaming tea in extravagant teapot and a small dose of honey in a white porcelain pot she carefully ascended the narrow servant's staircase again and hoped that none of the hot fluid would spill, neither on the tray nor on her clothes.

When she arrived at the doors to Cora's chamber she realized that she had both hands full and couldn't knock. At the Dark Castle that had never been a problem as the afternoon tea was mostly served in the sitting room and the doors to it were usually open. And in the very rare case, that something was served in the Dark One's chamber he had always made her deposit it in front of the door to make sure she was not disturbing him. At her new workplace, however, she feared placing the tray in front of the door was not appreciated so Liana thought for a moment and then looked around for Dor to ask her for help but the young girl was nowhere in sight. After another few seconds of insecurely standing in front of the large oak doors, she decided to clumsily use her head to knock.

Again, the young boy opened the door and let her enter and she placed the tray on an ornate oak table by the wall. As she began to take the teacups and saucers off the tray, the young servant stepped in and took over the task, whispering, "I'm the King's valet, serving the tea is my job."

Liana nodded thankfully and wanted to leave the room, assuming her services were no longer needed, but just in time, she remembered to check with her new mistress first so she turned around and waited for the dismissive wave of Cora's hand before she exited the room and hurried into hers.

Inside, Dor already awaited her, informing her, "Prince Henry has asked for you. His chambers are next to the Princess's; I suggest you go to him immediately."

The brunette stifled a sigh and turned on her heels to leave the room once again and knock on the door to the Prince's chamber and was invited with a friendly, "Come inside."

Carefully, the young woman opened the oversized oak doors and stepped inside to face a young prince, who offered her to take a seat at the round wooden table beneath the window at the far wall. Liana declined, not sure whether it was a test or not, and decided to take her place at a safe distance to the table, where the Prince already sat, and curtsey.

"Your Highness," she greeted the young royal and looked at him submissively yet expectantly.

"So," he began with a meaningful voice that let the following sound rather dull, "You are the young girl my wife has decided to make her personal maid? What's your name, child?"

"Liana," she introduced herself, confused as to why he would ask her such a question and why he would call her _child_ , but told him everything she had told the King before, this time upon being asked by the Prince. _Extraordinary_ , Liana thought with each question he asked and couldn't help but wonder what sort of game the Prince was playing. Hundred years with the Dark One had obviously made her more suspicious than she had thought for she couldn't believe anymore what she saw with her own eyes and heard with her own ears: that the Prince was not playing any foul game but was showing some genuine interest in her, his wife's personal maid. At first, Liana considered that he had the same reasons for checking on her as his father had – finding out if she could be trusted – but the more Liana talked to Prince Henry the more she realized that he already thought he could trust her and just wanted to make sure she felt comfortable in her new home.

That wasn't a first for Liana; in fact, the Dark One had begun to care for her well-being after about fifty of the hundred years she had spent with him but at that time, they had already gotten to know each other quite well and she had gathered that he was lonely. She was his only company – same as he was hers – and he had already begun to respect her and that was the reason why he gave her the queenly bedchamber right next to his quarters and wanted her to feel comfortable. This, however, was a new situation for Liana; the Prince didn't know her, she didn't know the Prince, they had no relationship or whatsoever formed and still, he cared for her. Liana wasn't sure if that was supposed to flatter or frighten her.

Once Prince Henry dismissed her, she returned to her own room, where Dor sat mending some silk shirt. Liana sat down on her bed as well facing Dor and looking at the young girl expectantly. It took a moment for Dor to realize that the young woman was staring at her before she put down shirt, needle and thread, swung her legs from the bed, sat to face her, too, and asked, "What's wrong? What did the Prince want you to do?"

"Nothing," Liana replied honestly, "He didn't want me to do anything. He offered me tea and asked a whole lot of questions about me."

Dor smiled brightly upon hearing this. "Oh, isn't he sweet? Inviting the maids for tea, right?"

Liana couldn't reply the smile but instead frowned. "Is that normal for him?"

The child nodded. "Oh, yeah, it is."

Liana's frown only deepened at this revelation so Dor hurried to explain, "Let me tell you something about the dear Prince: he is the nicest, sweetest, most genuine person you will ever meet in this castle, probably even in this entire kingdom. His former maid was his nursemaid from his childhood days. But she got too old to serve him, all right? So instead of sending her home, where probably was no one of her family that she knew left, he provided her with chambers in this castle to live out her days. But of course, he had to look for a new maid, right? So here comes my story. My brother was already a servant in this castle, downstairs; he's one of the gardeners. One day the head of kitchen maids finds him stealing some food and he is about to be punished and get thrown out of the castle. He desperately tries to explain to the head of kitchen maids why he was stealing food but Mrs. Bowler doesn't really care for his story. As luck would have it, the Prince was just going by, heard his pleading and decided to hear him out. He told him that he was only stealing the food for me, his sister, because we had just lost our mother, and I couldn't find a job at my village or any nearby noble family. Well, here's what Prince Henry did. He let my brother keep the food and bring it to me. Then, he ought to take me to the castle and introduce me to the Prince, who did with me the same as he obviously did with you: he offered me some tea and asked me a whole lot of questions about me, my family, my village, my departed mother, everything. At the end of this really nice conversation, he asked me if I had any experiences as a personal maid and though I honestly said no, he was willing to give me a chance and this is how I got my job. He didn't have to do any of that. He didn't have to listen to my brother's story, he didn't have to let him have the food, he didn't have let me bring to the castle or offer me a job and he didn't have to give me the job because as I said, I had no experience whatsoever in serving someone, but he did. He did all of that. So don't be so suspicious about Prince Henry and wonder why he might have wanted to get to know you because I can assure you he has no secret agenda like spying on you or something like that. You should rather worry about Princess Cora and King Xavier because if anyone is already plotting against you in this castle, it'll be those two. And to think that she started out as the daughter of a miller…"

Liana was overwhelmed by Dor's long speech and had to process all the information revealed with it before she probably asked the most unnecessary question of all, "Cora was a miller's daughter?" She had never heard that fact before and frankly, she couldn't have cared for it less, but she had always assumed Cora was used to the royal life style seeing the way she already fitted into it. Hearing now that she had nearly the same origin Liana had was astonishing, to say the least.

"Yeah," Dor shrugged as if it should be obvious and only then realized that Liana had had no idea until just now, "Oh, you didn't know. Sorry, I thought as her personal maid you would. Yeah, she was a miller's daughter who can spin straw into gold; that's why the King let her marry his son: she made the kingdom rich again."

"No, she didn't," Liana mumbled under her breath, so quiet the other woman didn't hear, because she knew even if Cora could spin straw into gold, it was Rumpelstiltskin who made the kingdom rich again by teaching Cora the magical feat. Yet, she was not about to share such insights with anyone at the castle just now as more and more information from Dor's prior gush of words started to sink into her brain and she started to realize that if Cora was plotting against her already, she might want to start collecting information about her employer herself. A little bribe might come in handy one day, she figured.

Only those information were hard to come by. After nearly three months of working as Cora's personal maid, all Liana had really found out was that apart from spinning straw into gold, no one knew about her magical abilities, which was mostly due to the fact that she hadn't properly mastered them. She had a book containing some basic teachings in magic – if she had stolen it from Rumpelstiltskin or if he had given it to her, Liana didn't know – and from it, she could conjure some simple spells but nothing too complicated. Upon finding out that fact, Liana couldn't be more relieved since it meant, once the last residues of the Dark One's potion were swept out of her system, her aging would return to normal, which meant that her punishment as Cora's maid could not be forever anymore. But the relief of that discovery was soon washed away by the realization that she could gather as much information as she wanted to, she could never tell anyone about it. As soon as she tried, she was faced with the same consequences she had already experienced at the Dark Castle: breathlessness, choking hazard and near death. Cora had made provisions against Liana turning on her; she had made sure she could never tell her secrets by ordering it through Liana's heart. And that was only one of many ways Cora found to punish her. Whenever Liana disobeyed, the royal princess used her heart to force her to obey or to torture her until she willingly complied; whenever Liana didn't satisfy her employer fully and completely, Cora would also torture her or make her sleep on the floor outside of the Royal Superior Maid's room or cut her breakfast and supper. In many ways, serving Cora was a lot like being sent back to the tailor master – the sparse meals, the shared room, the stone-cold floor as a sleeping place – but Liana managed to keep her spirits and her wits. She always told herself not to give in to the forms of punishment and torture Cora found for her because that was what the royal bride wanted and she wasn't about to give her that satisfaction. Dor admired her for that – but then again, the young and naïve girl wasn't very hard to impress. According to her, in the short time Cora had been married to the prince before Liana came to the castle, three other maids had already quitted for they couldn't stand Cora's destructive nature; for Liana, it was a challenge and she had accepted so there was no backing down.

Shortly after Liana had begun her services at the royal palace, Cora was already with child and despite everyone's apparent joy and happiness at the news, Liana couldn't help herself but already pity the unborn child for the heartless mother it would have but she never let it show. Many times, Liana wasn't sure if she willingly put on the mask of if she just couldn't let it show due to the fact that Cora owned her heart and simply didn't let her. Whatever it was, Liana faced all the temper and mood swings and endured all forms of torture she got to feel during that time with her head held high. And while most of Princess Cora and Prince Henry's servants were all but occupied with planning and organizing the royal couple's move to the royal estate, King Xavier had ordered to be built for his youngest son, Liana was responsible for ensuring Cora's health during the pregnancy. More often than she cared to admit, she thought about all the diseases that could infect a pregnant woman and sentence her to death. In the fourteen years, she had lived with her parents on the verge of poverty, she had watched so many people perish from unknown diseases, pregnant women, infants, young children and old people highly perceptible for them, and she almost despised herself for wishing some of them on Cora.

At one point, her wish seemed to be granted and Cora became ill, fatally ill. And as much as Liana had wished for it before, seeing Cora lying weakly on her bed, fading away and taking an innocent child with her didn't seem to be fair, even for such a cruel woman like her. A pang of guilt shot through her heart and although she could tell, it was placed there by the same person she had wished the death sentence on she couldn't shake it.

So when the royal doctor declared that all hope for the young princess was lost, Liana made up her mind to sneak out of the castle in the middle of the night and go to the dark meadow. Concealed in the shadows of the trees so no one in the castle could watch her, she called out the Dark One's name to summon him, "Rumpelstiltskin? Rumpelstiltskin, I need your help!"

"No, you don't," she heard the familiar sing-song voice behind her and turned around to face the man, "Cora does, and you have decided to help her. Tell me, dearie, is this your own free will or does she make you do it with your heart?"

"I don't know," the young woman honestly admitted, "I don't know what's really me and what Cora is doing anymore. All I know is that she is dying, and I have wished for that…a lot, but now I can't have that wish to come true."

"You're afraid that she's dying because of your wish, isn't that so, dearie?"

He hadn't lost his ability to read a situation correctly, Liana thought bitterly and nodded.

"Do you want me to ease your mind or heal Cora from the disease?"

Liana looked at him confused and indeed considered to take his first option. If he could just tell her that even royals weren't spared from terminal diseases and that it had nothing to do with her wish, it would ease her mind. But would it be enough, she wondered. Cora would still die, and while that was a fact Liana could easily take, she couldn't let an innocent child die with her. So she almost begrudgingly decided, "Heal her, please."

"Tell me just why I would do that, dearie. You do recall she has tricked me twice, and the second time you paid the price. I thought you would like to see her dead, dearie, because I certainly do," the Dark One countered and Liana couldn't deny that he had a point. So she made hers, "I would…like to see her dead, I really do. But she is with child. And that is just as much the reason why I want you to help her as it is the reason why you should want to help her."

"And why is that?"

"When you made your first deal with her, all you ever asked from her was your child, wasn't it?"

With gritting teeth, Rumpelstiltskin nodded.

"No, it wasn't," Liana retorted with a certainty that revealed she had thought this through over and over again and had always come to the same conclusion, "The first thing you asked from her was _any_ firstborn child. She is with just that child now, and for some reason you know that it will be important. So I thought you might want it to live."

The Dark One just stood and stared at her with a mask of indifference that she knew well enough to see through it and recognize the confusion and surprise behind it.

"You always managed to surprise me," he finally admitted, "And with me, that is supposed to mean something."

Liana couldn't suppress the bright and honest smile but then, she remembered why they were talking and what they were talking about so she asked seriously, "Will you help me?"

"Yes, of course, dearie, but…for a price."

"What is it?"

"Is there anything you can give me? Anything at all?"

Liana took a deep breath and a step back as she couldn't think of anything. She would have gladly offered to return to his services but that was out of the question as long as Cora had a hold of her heart, and she had no riches and treasures to offer – not that he needed any, he was probably the richest man alive. The only thing she knew he wanted was Cora's unborn child, and she couldn't guarantee she could give it to him – and she was not stupid enough to make a deal with him she didn't know whether or not she could keep it. Thus, she sadly shook her head.

"Then, I can't help you." He shrugged and was about to turn and walk away when she had an idea, "Then, don't do this for me, or for Cora, or for anyone. Do this for yourself. Because for whatever reason, you need that child alive. Ensure that by keeping Cora alive…for now. Help yourself by helping her. Trust me, I dislike this as much as you do but it's the only way you will ever get your hands on that child."

Again, the Dark One mustered her, this time blatant surprise evident in his eyes. "Point taken," he acknowledged and with a wave of his hand, he held out a small blue vial filled with a transparent liquid. "Give that to her the next chance you get and she should be all cured within three days' time," he instructed and once she had taken the potion, vanished into thin air.

The next morning, Liana mixed the brew into the tea and watched as Cora healed more and more with each passing day until on the third day, she was completely cured, just as Rumpelstiltskin had said. And then, the most incredible of all things happened: Cora thanked her. Obviously, she knew that Liana had asked for Rumpelstiltskin's help and that if Liana hadn't, she would be dead. But before Liana could even acknowledge the gesture Cora threatened her again, namely that she would kill her if she should tell anyone what had just happened between them and Liana figured that even though she saved her mistress's life, their relationship wouldn't change – and it didn't. The next day, everything was back to normal until the little baby girl, the new princess, was born.

* * *

Now that Regina is finally born, I think I'm putting her childhood memories and upbringing into the next chapter but as I have learnt from the previous one, I don't make any promises concerning the content of a following chapter I haven't even begun to write yet anymore.

But just as last time, you are more than welcome to send me any ideas concerning Regina's childhood, I'm open to any suggestions (within reason!).

Stay around and have a nice time out there.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Once Upon a Time or any of its recognizable characters, only the character of Liana and some of the events that play out.

Wow, I didn't think I could write that chapter that fast but with some help of my awesome best friend, who provided with some genius ideas concerning Regina's childhood, I just couldn't write fast enough!

Enjoy reading and, as always, reviews - compliments as well as constructive criticism - are always welcome!

 **Warning:** Well, you know Cora...some b*tchy behavior, a little violence and indirect child abuse (not really mentioned, just alluded but just so you know...)

 **8th Chapter:**

During a stormy and chilly night, Liana awoke to the persistent sound of the ringing bell. It took a few moments for her to realize that her mistress was calling but then she almost stormed into Cora's chambers without knocking, still in her nightgown and her hair undone. Another few seconds passed, in which the young woman took the scene before her in: Princess Cora was lying on her bed, sweating and screaming, the midwife kneeled between her spread legs and urged her to push, a fostress and an already carefully selected nursemaid were standing nearby, both tending to the royal woman.

 _Birth_ , was the only word that shot through Liana's mind and seemed to be an appropriate description for scene taking place in front of her.

After the initial shock that had the young woman momentarily paralyzed, she started to think and turned on her heels to storm out of the room, down the servants' stairwell, always taking two steps at a time, and into the kitchen. There she grabbed a bucket with the last lukewarm water, decanted it into two bowls, fetched two clean cloths from the servants' storage room and threw one in each bowl. With the items balanced in her hands, she scurried up the stairs again and into the queenly bedchamber, from where the Princess's screams echoed through the castle's walls and pierced marrow and bone.

One bowl Liana placed next to the midwife for the infant to clean, the other one she used to carefully wipe away the sweat on Cora's forehead.

About six hours, countless contractions and endless screams later, at the crack of dawn, a healthy baby girl was born. Cora was spent, Liana was tired, the midwife was relieved and the fostress and the nursemaid were both excited and coddled the baby, praising in a high-pitched, sing-song voice what a beautiful girl she was. If that was what giving birth was like, Liana was glad that she had never been and wasn't keen on ever going through it.

"Bring her to me," the Princess ordered in a soft, tired voice and the other brunette nodded, stood up and approached the fostress and the nursemaid to take the baby from their into her own arms and carefully carry it to Cora. All her previous thoughts were thrown overboard when she looked into the new princess's wrinkled face, her tiny, little arms and her light body. Now she understood what all the fuss was about: holding the newborn child in one's arms was more than sufficient to make up for all the pain and exhaustion during birth. Almost reluctantly, she handed the infant girl to Cora but stood by to watch the interactions between the newly mother and her newborn child, strangely feeling the urge to make sure Cora would never hurt the precious, little girl.

"You can go, Liana," Cora dismissed her when she noticed that the young woman was still standing at her bed but Liana inquired, "I would like to stay, if I may?"

The royal woman's eyes snapped at her in astonishment but then she surprisingly nodded her agreement and Liana kept standing next to the bed until the fostress offered her a chair. The midwife finished checking Cora's well-being and cleaned the bed before she was dismissed, the fostress and the nursemaid stayed around to keep watch over the infant while Cora slowly drifted off to sleep, and Liana was so fascinated by the miracle of life that she wanted to help the other two women and thus stayed around as well. It was the first night Liana fell asleep in the chair in Cora's bedchamber.

A few days later, the entire kingdom under King Xavier's rule was gathered in the throne room of the castle to pay homage to the infant princess. It was a royal tradition that Liana didn't quite understand. The likelihood for the new princess to ever become queen was vanishingly low without an awful lot of bloodshed and still, royalty, nobility, gentry and even commoners had come from all over the kingdom to praise the newborn child. But as Cora often reminded her, it was not her place to understand royal customs, it was only her place to serve them and do as she was asked to. On many occasions, Liana still enquired more than Cora would like her to but this special event she took for granted as an exception and only removed the infant child from her crib, passed her on to Cora and retreated into the shadows so no one would even know that she was there.

The advantage of a location in the shadows was that while no one noticed her, she could see everybody. And as everyone, including the royal family, was preoccupied with the little princess, Liana was the only one to recognize a familiar hooded figure among the crowd.

"Her name is Regina, for one day, she will be queen," Cora announced but Liana was only listening with half an ear as she was staring into the only pair of eyes that was looking back, Rumpelstiltskin's.

Everyone in the crowd, even Prince Henry and King Xavier, bowed to Cora and the infant princess and Rumpelstiltskin bowed along with them, too, so their eye contact broke but Liana kept staring until Dor reminded her to bow as well.

After the ceremony, Cora stormed out of the throne room, thrusted her daughter into Liana's hands and ordered her to follow her into her chambers, where the fostress was making the child's bed.

"You," Cora addressed her as she didn't bother to recall the woman's name and her harsh tone made the servant wince, "Feed her and get her ready for the journey."

The fostress curtseyed hurriedly, took the infant from Liana's arms and quickly tended to Regina.

Cora turned to the brunette and commanded, "Get me into my travelling outfit. The carriage might already await us."

The young woman was used to Cora's harshness and only needed to suppress the urge to roll her eyes before she approached the Princess and started to undo the laces on the back of her light-blue, full-length, complicated dress she had only put on for the coronation ceremony.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, dearie," they both heard the all too familiar, high-pitched voice from behind and this time, it was Cora who flinched at the sound of it before she turned around to face Rumpelstiltskin with an annoyed look upon her face. With a quick nod, she dismissed the fostress, who scurried out of the room immediately, then turned back to the dark man and asked in a bored tone, "What do you want, Rumple?"

"I told you, you weren't getting away so easily. One way or another, you will fulfill the contract we have made, dearie." His voice was as dark as Liana had only ever heard it when it came to Cora and although she could see that Cora drew back visibly from the man in front of her, her voice remained calm, "There is no contract for me to fulfill; you changed it. So you will never get to Regina."

"Regina," Rumpelstiltskin mused and took a step in the direction of the crib. Cora immediately stepped in between defensively and Liana was also ready to do whatever was necessary to protect the child; she even felt magic tickling at her fingertips. Not that it would do her any good in the face of the Dark One but it reassured her that she wasn't defenseless.

He noticed the women's hostility and withdrew. "She is your firstborn child, isn't she?" he inquired, walked around Cora and thus came relentlessly closer to Liana.

"Yes," Cora answered hesitantly, keeping her eyes glued to him.

"Then, I already told you that she will be quite important."

"But you're not gonna get her!"

It was the first time, Cora's and Liana's interests were allied. The brunette might have persuaded Rumpelstiltskin to heal Cora because she knew he wanted her child but that didn't mean she would let him take Regina with him. The curtain blew up and Liana knew her magic caused it. Rumpelstiltskin noticed it and turned to her although he was seemingly still talking to Cora when he said, "Relax, dearie, I'm not gonna take her, she will come to me. Eventually."

"Then, what do you want?" Cora asked suspiciously.

"I just want to…take a look at her, hold her. She is, after all, supposed to…my child."

"But she isn't, and now get out before I call the guards!" the young royal snapped at the dark man, who pretended to be offended and let out a fake sad sigh.

"Actually," Liana dared to raise her voice, "That was his price."

Cora's eyes snapped at her and mustered her disbelievingly and Liana almost feared she could detect the lie. Rumpelstiltskin also looked at her in surprise but didn't say anything as he probably gathered that she was doing him a favor, which she was since she felt she owed him since their last deal.

"It was his price for the potion he gave me that healed you," she clarified at Cora's questioning glare, "It was the only thing I could give him." With an apologetic smile at her mistress and an inconspicuous wink at the Dark One, Liana backed away from the crib, the magic at her fingertips gone. At first, Cora looked at her with a sinister eye but then she turned to Rumpelstiltskin and fixated him with the same glare before she backed down, too, and let him have a look into the crib.

Tentatively, with the utmost care and caution, he took the little girl out of the bed and into his arms. Regina stretched out her tiny hands to touch his face and he genuinely smiled at the gesture.

"Hello, Regina," he greeted her in a soft, low voice Liana had never heard him use before. Suddenly, she remembered that, a very long time ago, he had had a son of his own and with that knowledge, his interactions with Regina and his initial wish to hold her made a lot more sense.

It was not even a minute before he put her back into the crib, stroked her cheek and tucked her in. Then, he straightened his back and said into the room, "Take care of her." And he was gone but Liana knew his words were meant for her. She should take care of Regina, and she promised herself that she would.

Only that promise – later Liana could never distinctly remember if she had actually made it to Rumpelstiltskin or just to herself – was a lot harder to keep than she had initially thought. With alarming accuracy, Cora made sure Liana was never alone with the child and that she never got to see her for too long. These short moments the young woman did see Regina, however, were more than enough for her to realize that her fears had never been baseless. A heartless woman could never become a loving and caring mother. Cora was unduly strict and harsh; nothing Regina did was ever good enough to satisfy Cora's need for perfection. Regina was a wonderful child, Liana knew that even without having spent much time with the girl, but she was sad and lonely and constantly craving for her mother's love that she was just never getting and it made Liana's heart sink.

The nursemaid was the person closest to Regina and because of Cora's strict determination to keep Liana away from her daughter she wasn't there to hear the princess's first words or to see her first steps – the nursemaid was – but due to an unfortunate accident Liana was there to soothe Regina's first nightmare.

One night – it was about four years after Regina's birth and the family's move to the royal estate on the outskirts of King Xavier's kingdom – Liana awoke to wailing sounds outside of her door. She had a very light sleep and awoke almost immediately to the softest of sounds – a necessary survival skill she had adopted during her years with the tailor master – and thus she didn't doubt that she was the only one to hear the silent sobs. Just in her nightgown and with her hair undone, she hurried outside to find Regina crying in front of her mother's door. Liana knew Cora would never approve if she, a servant, sat down beside her daughter but that was just another reason for Liana to do exactly that.

Regina winced and looked up with wide, red and watery eyes. The young woman had a hard time not to pull the child into her arms but sometimes she did remember her place and such a gesture would have been highly inappropriate.

"I'm sorry I have woken you up," the young girl apologized maturely and was about to stand up and leave but Liana quickly assured, "It's alright, Little One, I am a light sleeper. Would you like to tell me why you sit out here alone in the middle of the night?"

"It's silly," Regina disregarded and Liana wondered what a child of four years of age would call _silly_ and why she would still cry about it.

"Are you sure?" the young woman queried as Regina got up and wiped away her tears.

The little princess nodded quickly.

"Then, why were you crying?"

"Because I am a stupid child."

Now that sounded like something Cora would say and Liana could not let Regina think like this so she reassured, "I don't think you are. It looked to me like you were sad and probably scared but that doesn't make you stupid."

The young girl managed a faint smile. "Even if I was afraid of a scary dream?"

"Absolutely not!" Leave it to Cora to make her daughter think she was stupid for being afraid of a nightmare, which was only naturally for a child. So Liana wanted to set that right, "I remember when I was your age and I had a nightmare that ogres would come to my home at night and eat me. I couldn't sleep for a week without a candle burning on my bedside table and my mother checking the forest outside of my window for potential ogre hideouts."

"Now that was silly," Regina commended with a shy giggle, "Everyone knows that ogres are dead."

Liana giggled along with the princess just because she liked the sound of it before she countered, "They weren't for me, not when I heard the wind howling through my room and thought it were ogre screams."

"What did your mother do?"

"She…" The woman faltered. She hadn't thought about her mother for a long time, and was surprised that it still hurt, especially since she still wished she had had more time with her mother. It was ironic, considering how long she had already lived that she still wished for more time. "She would tuck me in, light the candle and tell me story," Liana told the little princess after the short pause.

"What kind of story?"

"Any story I wanted to hear."

Shyly, Regina looked at the ground and asked quietly, "Can you tell me a story, please?"

The young woman smiled brightly and nodded, at which Regina's face lit up and she grabbed Liana's hand to lead her into her room. There she climbed into her bead, tucked herself in and pointed at a chair for Liana to sit. The brunette lit the candle on the bedside table before she sat down and asked, "What kind of story would you like to hear?"

"Your favoristest!" the girl exclaimed, far too enthusiastic at this late hour but Liana was glad she was happy again and didn't even correct her language although she should have in Cora's opinion.

"Well, let's see…" Again, the young had to pause to think back and remember her favorite bedtime story. "What about… _The Queen and her Dark Knight_?"

Regina nodded excited even though Liana doubted she had ever heard the story before. She nestled deeper into her bed and put her thumb into her mouth, a gesture, at which Cora would give her at least ten raps over the knuckles, but again, Liana couldn't find it in her heart to scold the little child for it, and thus she just began to tell the tale.

She wasn't even halfway through it – the Dark Knight had not even won his future Queen's favor – when Regina was already sound asleep so Liana stopped talking, got up and tucked a few strands of brown hair behind the princess's ear but refrained from kissing her forehead. Instead, she just whispered, "Goodnight, my future Queen," without knowing how much truth was hidden behind those words, blew out the candle, left the room and went to her own bed.

Yet, it was impossible for her to think of sleeping, not with a million thoughts surrounding the little girl just a few doors from hers swirling through her mind. She remembered the promise to take care of her and couldn't help but think that she had failed; she couldn't protect the young girl from her mother. But then, she thought of tonight and could only hope the one good deed every once in a while would be enough to ward off the worst damage Cora would certainly cause. As long as Regina still possessed the ability to laugh, Liana thought, hope wasn't entirely lost for her.

A few days later, Liana walked right into a temper tantrum Regina was having. She knew something was odd the moment she set foot into the room, and it was more than just the crying little princess and a yelling Cora; she could feel magic sizzling through the air.

At first, Liana thought it would be Cora's magic – it sure wouldn't have been the first time the other woman had used magic to punish Regina for misbehaving – but then she looked further around and found evidence of uncontrolled magic: blown up curtains, shivering objects and if she concentrated very hard, she could even feel waring intensities of magic. All those signs were indicating that it was Regina's magic, which was about to surface and go out of control. So Liana turned her attention from Cora to the little princess sitting on the floor, wailing.

Suddenly, the young woman remembered a very similar situation from her own childhood. She must have been the same age Regina was now when her mother had lost a gift the miller's son had made for Liana's birthday and she had become so upset that the walls of the hovel had begun to shake and the flames of the candles had started to flicker. By then, no one had attributed the events to a magical outburst since no one had even assumed she could possess such abilities but now, Liana was sure that it been her first experience with magic and Regina was having hers. She remembered how she had blasted away a wall in the Dark Castle due to her inexperienced dealing with magic and she was determined to prevent that from happening again. So despite Cora's harsh protests, she bent down to the little girl and said, "Hey there, Little One, you remember me, don't you?"

Between sobs, Regina nodded and Liana ignored Cora's accusing glare and instead asked, "Would you like to tell me what this is about?"

Regina sniffed but didn't respond so Liana sat down in front of her and continued undeterred but still in a soft voice," If you don't tell me, then I can't help you."

The little princess sniffed again and wiped away her tears. "She…She…" she stuttered but lost her voice again in loud, heart-wrenching sobs. It would have been easy to turn to Cora and inquire the information from her since Regina was clearly accusing her mother but Liana didn't want the child to feel overlooked so she remained focused on her and explained calmly, "I know you're upset, Little One, but this way, I can't understand you. I need you to calm down and tell me what's going on. Do you think you can do that?"

Regina nodded and wiped away the fresh tears but didn't respond yet only looked at Liana with her wide, pitiful brown eyes and was obviously looking for comfort. Liana would have liked to take the little girl into her arms, rock and soothe her until the world was all right again but with Cora warningly staring at her back she just couldn't do that – not without dying a hundred deaths afterwards. When Regina saw that Liana would not provide her with the comfort she needed, tears started rolling from her eyes, she looked at the ground and retrieved to herself again.

"She's not making any sense!" Cora complained and Liana recognized the impatient tone, jumped up immediately and turned on her heels just in time to grab for Cora's raised hand and stop her from using magic on Regina. At the other woman's wide, angry eyes, she replied, "You can torture me for that later, right now I'm trying to find out what upset you daughter before she has a magical outburst of her own."

"She has magic?" Cora's tone seemed to be honestly surprised, which, in turn, surprised Liana. How could she have missed the signs? But then, she quickly brushed it off as a problem for later.

"I'll explain that, too, later," she told Cora and turned back to Regina, who was staring at her with wide, terrified eyes again.

"I don't wanna have magic!" she exclaimed in fear and Liana could slap herself for letting the little girl the conversation with her mother. With an inaudible sigh, the young woman bent down to the little princess again and said, "Then you don't have to."

Fear turned into wonder and with a mild chuckle, Liana explained, "Magic is a gift but you alone decide whether you use it or not. You see, Little One, I have magic, too, but like you, I decided I'd rather not use it so I don't. And you can do that, too."

Regina nodded thankfully, wiped away her tears once more and crawled into Liana's lap. The young heard Cora's sharp gasp and turned her head to give the royal woman a pointed glare telling her to let it happen for the time being.

"Thank you," Regina whispered and Liana smiled, "You're most welcome, Little One."

Princess and servant sat in silence for a while, Cora watching the scene begrudgingly, before Liana queried in a light tone, "Now, would you like to tell me what this was all about?"

"She destroyed my paintings," Regina answered quietly as if she was almost ashamed to admit to it. Liana needed a few second to process the information and react accordingly. Her first instinct was to yell at and physically abuse Cora for doing such a cruel thing but she didn't want to that in front of Regina. Besides, she also wanted to live past tonight so lashing out on Cora might not be the best course of action. Comforting Regina and telling her that it was not as bad as it seemed didn't feel right, either, so Liana simply inquired, "What did you paint?"

"What I remembered of your story. A queen and a knight and a dragon."

" _Your_ story?" Cora wanted to know, an explicit warning in her dark tone.

Liana cringed but figured she might already be dead so she replied annoyed, "Yes, I told her story. You can torture me for that later, too." Then, she turned back to Regina and asked in a much softer voice, "Was the knight fighting the dragon?"

The little princess nodded with a wide grin.

"And did the queen watching him?"

This time, Regina shook her head and explained, "She was helping the knight defeating the dragon."

"That's just ridiculous," Cora interrupted, "Queens don't help knights fighting dragons."

"This one did," Regina insisted carefully and before Cora could start another attempt on destroying the child's imagination, Liana backed her, "That's right, she did, didn't she?"

Regina nodded again with her toothy grin and Liana couldn't help but smile along.

"Now," she suggested, "Do you want to paint it again?"

Liana could literally feel Cora's eyes skin her alive for making such a proposal but Regina's happy nod made it all worthwhile.

"Will you keep it?" she asked hopefully and Liana nodded sincerely, "Nothing in the world could stop me."

Regina jumped from her lap and stormed out of the room before she turned back and inquired, "What's tor-tor-tor-sure?"

The young woman faltered as she had not expected such a question but quickly glossed it over by correcting the princess, "It's _torture_. But it's not for young princesses to know; you will find out soon enough."

The little girl nodded far too understandingly for her age and returned to her chamber and Liana looked after her for a few seconds before she turned to Cora to face the consequences of her behavior.

"I don't know where to start," Cora began to scold her and Liana couldn't stop herself from saying, "Me neither."

That made Cora lose her train of thoughts. "What?"

And Liana saw her chance to say bits of her mind, "Destroying a painting because whatever the queen inside did was not appropriate for a queen? Really, Cora? It's child imagination! It's very essential for growing up! Besides, she was only drawing what she heard from a story, which you would know if you would actually tell her those stories and not leave it to servants to fill in such essential educational blanks. I mean, do you actually care for your daughter? 'Cause it seems like you don't. You were just about to punish her for being upset for a very good reason. That's not the way you bring up a child!"

Too late Liana realized that her mouth had been faster than her head and she had overstepped an invisible line, no one had ever dared to cross, but then again, she figured she was already dead; she couldn't get any deader.

"And who are you to interfere with my methods of education?" Cora's tone was darker and lower than Liana had ever heard before and she knew she was about to suffer dearly. "You are just a servant, my servant, and it's time that I remind you where your place as such is."

With a flick her wrist, she held Liana's heart in her hand and began to squeeze without further warning. Liana let out a short scream, more of surprise than of actual pain, before she fell to her knees and swallowed any other sound that threatened to escape her throat.

"I'm not going to apologize," she let out between labored breaths.

"I don't want you to," Cora replied in a feigned sweet tone that couldn't hide the darkness in voice. "I want you to feel the pain. I want you to feel my anger."

Liana thought she already did but then Cora whispered something into her heart and all of a sudden, her own hands moved towards her neck without prompting. Her fingers closed around her throat and started chocking her. She was killing herself and wasn't even able to stop it. Cora's magic lifted her into the air until she dangled a few feet over the ground and was sure she would die any minute now.

Then, suddenly, the other woman let her go and she crashed onto the hard stone floor, coughing relentlessly. Cora wiped her hands on her dress as if cleaning them of something filthy – Liana's heart was no longer there – and queried matter-of-factly, "And now, I want to know about my daughter's magic and the story that you were both referring to."

Liana got up, breathing heavily, and explained, "A few nights back, I woke up and found your daughter crying in the corridor. I brought her back to bed and told her a story to soothe her."

"And who allowed you to do so?"

"I did. I couldn't leave her to herself."

"Next time, you will unless I explicitly tell you otherwise, do you understand?"

If Liana had been clever, she would have agreed with Cora in order to save her own skin but she wasn't so she snapped, "Maybe I would if I knew you would actually care for her!"

Cora drew her breath in sharply and for the first, time since Liana knew her, didn't raise her hand to wield magic but to slap the younger woman on her cheek.

"That's enough!" Liana had never seen the royal woman so out of composure as she strode through her chamber to ring a bell and the other woman swore that by the sound of the bell anyone was able to tell how upset Cora was.

"Tell me about my daughter's magic!" she demanded, her voice shaking with rage.

"What's there to tell?" Liana wondered honestly, "Your daughter has magic, just like you. But unlike you, she doesn't want to use it so I don't think it will be a problem. Unless you upset her like that again, then she might lash out." _And I wouldn't blame her_ , she added in mind.

"Oh, I don't think that's going to happen," Cora muttered and Liana was just about to ask what that was supposed to mean but a knock on the door interrupted her.

"You have rung for me, Your Highnesses?" Mrs. Burberry, the Royal Superior Maid, asked from outside and Cora grabbed Liana's neck to lead her to the door and throw her in of the other woman's feet.

"Wash her mouth with soap as long as you deem necessary and then send her up with a tray of tea for me, my daughter and my husband!" Cora announced and closed the door with a loud bang that made Mrs. Burberry wince.

Liana and the Royal Superior Maid went downstairs and on the servants' stairwell the older woman asked, "What did you do this time, Liana?"

The brunette only shrugged. "The usual. I gave her piece of my mind."

Her mouth was washed, expensive soap was wasted, the tea was served and Liana found the painting of a knight and a queen fighting a dragon together in front of her quarter's door and knew she would always stand up for the little girl no matter what Cora would do to her for it.

* * *

I actually had some more events in Regina's childhood planned for this chapter but somehow, I reached my 5000 word limit pretty quickly and thus I decided to save some things for the next chapter. Let's see how fast I can write that!

Stay safe and have a good time out there!


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Once Upon a Time or any of its recognizable characters, only the character of Liana and some of the events that play out.

And it's up, chapter 9! I'm sorry, it took me longer than I had expected when I published the 8th chapter and it contains something entirely different than what i had originally planned but I kind of like it and I sure hope you do, too.

Enjoy reading and as always reviews - compliments as well as constructive criticsm - are most welcome and always appreciated.

 **Warning:** This one doesn't really have any. The beginning is very thoughtful and maybe somewhat depressing but the rest of the chapter is mostly fluff.

 **9th Chapter:**

Liana felt as though she was stuck within the same old story all over again. Most of her life, she had been in the hands of others – first, her parents' landowner, then Rumpelstiltskin, and finally, Cora – and that wasn't about to change anytime soon, she realized one evening when she sat on her bed after an exhausting and strenuous day and stared at the ring hanging from her necklace between the dip of her breasts. Sometimes, she still remembered her parents and her home; she remembered chasing after the miller's son through the cornfields and she remembered lying in the grass, exhausted from all the running, and staring into the sky; she remembered dreams she had had back then and she remembered wanting to be more than she was.

 _More than she was_ , Liana mused and took the ring between her fingers to examine the old silver. She had never been more than a farmer's daughter; she had never been more than a seamstress; she had never been more than a servant, and she wondered if she would ever be.

More than she was.

She tried to remember what the fourteen-year-old girl lying in the fields and looking at the clouds had meant by that; she tried to figure out what she had wanted in life back then. But with a frown, Liana came to realize that a fourteen-year-old girl, who hadn't seen much more in her life than her own home, didn't really have an idea what it meant to be more than she was.

More than she was.

Wasn't she already more than she had been when she was fourteen? She lived in a castle – granted, as a servant, but still –; she didn't have to worry if she still had a roof above her head and food in her belly when she woke up the next morning – except, when she had disobeyed or angered Cora again, then food was hard to come by. But it was still more luxury than her parents were ever granted – at least, during the time she had spent with them. She hoped that had changed after her deal with Rumpelstiltskin.

More than she was.

She wondered if she had been content with the life she would have led if her parents' landowner had never interfered. Or if she had always continued to wish, she would be more than she was. She would have had a few more years with her parents before she had married the miller's son and probably would have worn the ring, she was now fiddling with, on her finger instead of on a necklace around her neck. She would have most likely had children of her own and quite possibly even grandchildren and most certainly, she would be dead by now.

More than she was.

What an odd wish, Liana concluded and let the ring drop against her chest again. She thought of Cora, who had started out as the daughter of a miller and ended up being the wife of a former prince – the royal title had been stripped away from the entire family after King Xavier had been defeated at an ill-chosen war with another kingdom –, all because she, too, had desired to be more than she was.

Discovering the similarity between herself and her mistress, Liana cringed her nose in disgust and shook her head to dispel the thought. If becoming more than she was also meant becoming a despicable human being like Cora, Liana was glad she had never made it that far; there were lines she was sure she would never cross.

With a deep sigh, she let herself fall onto the hard mattress and stared at the ceiling, tired and exhausted enough to need some rest but also with enough thoughts swirling through her troubled mind to know that sleep was not quite granted yet.

Ever since she had entered into the services of Cora, Liana had trouble sleeping and she could only assume it was because she was worried. Worried about her heart and the effects it might have since she was not carrying it inside her chest; worried what Cora might do to it and her since she clearly not intended to give it back; worried that the effects of Rumpelstiltskin's potion would never wear off and that she was stuck with that terrible woman forever. Granted, she noticed that her body was somewhat changing and aging again but it was still so much slower than was considered normal and she wondered how long it was supposed to take.

But most of all, Liana was worried about Regina. The young girl rapidly grew and became a woman before all of their eyes and all they could do was stand by and watch as the childhood drained away from her with each change of her body and somewhat violent swing of her mood. From her position as a silent observer – where she had been banned to after her last intermeddling with Regina's education about destroyed paintings and bedtime stories – Liana had noticed that things between Cora and her daughter had been getting complicated and uncomfortable for a long while now and Liana knew what was going on. Regina was growing; she was trying to find out who she was and who she wanted to be; she wanted to fight just a little bit to get a chance to be the person she thought she was and she wanted to make a stand about everything she thought she knew about herself.

Unfortunately, Cora didn't care who it was Regina wanted to be, only who it was that she wanted Regina to be. She wanted her to be the perfect princess and the perfect bride who dressed accordingly, curtsied and smiled appropriately and said the right things to the right lords who one day might offer up their son in marriage.

But Liana – and everyone else on the estate, for that matter – knew that that wasn't who Regina wanted to be. She wanted to be free and loved. But she also wanted her mother to be proud of her and love her for the person she was, not the person Cora had created in her mind. And unfortunately, the young girl was desperate enough for her mother's love that she would do just about anything and willingly give up every part of her that was unwanted by her mother even if that meant losing herself and everything she thought was worth fighting for about herself.

It was a sad truth, Liana thought, that even she, who was banned to watch from afar, knew what the little girl was going through. But she also knew that there was nothing she could do about it; she was but a servant and Cora had made sure to teach her where her place as such was. Not that the brunette was suited for the role and more often than not she would defy the rules that were imposed upon her by her social status but she had gotten to feel the consequences of her insubordinate behavior and had learnt not to provoke a confrontation with Cora. As much as she wanted to stand up for Regina, there was only so much even she could take.

With another deep sigh, Liana turned to her side, curled up and closed her eyes, determined to sleep despite all of those nasty thoughts stuck inside her head. Yet, just as she felt she was dosing off to a light slumber, she heard a commotion in the hallway and her eyes snapped open again. For a short moment, she considered ignoring the noise but she knew she couldn't even before she heard Cora's harsh voice bellowing through the corridor, Anna's – Regina's nursemaid, although Cora insisted that she was now her daughter's personal maid since, in her opinion, Regina had long outgrown the need of a nursemaid – meek excuses and Regina's quiet sobs.

She groaned in annoyance – not so much because she was kept from her night's rest, more because she had witnessed such situations a hundred times and a hundred times over – but got up, nonetheless, stepped out of her room and walked over to Regina's chamber. There she found the little girl, who wasn't little anymore at all, crawled up in a comfortable armchair in the far corner of the room, pouting and crying, Anna sitting by her side, trying to calm her down. Cora stood in the doorframe, her face an indifferent mask, but her eyes glowing with rage and her nostrils wide, and commanded an as equally upset as worried Anna, "Take her to the bathroom and explain things to her, then bring her to my chambers!"

Liana froze in the middle of her movement and gaped at Cora, her eyes wide in shock. She had watched how this scene played out too many times not to know what would happen to Regina once she was in Cora's chambers and the doors were closed: magical and physical abuse as punishment for insolence and misbehavior. Her heart clenched at the thought alone and as Cora turned around and swept out of the room, the hem of her elegant nightgown swirling around in her wake, Liana humbly bowed before her even though her back almost refused to do so.

"Milady," she requested as subservient as she could manage. Still, Cora snarled as she always did, since the message of King Xavier's defeat had gone around and the servants had stopped addressing her as _Princess_. "If you allow my asking, I would like to know what is going on," Liana proceeded undeterred and held her position as long as it took for Cora to muster her, looking for the reason for the sudden subservience that was quite unusual for Liana, before she straightened her back and replied Cora's gaze with naïve inquisitiveness and careful prompting.

"Ask Anna!" came the sudden harsh reply and the regal woman stormed off in what could only be described as a furious rage.

The young woman stared disbelievingly after her mistress, wondering why she had allowed her to pry into Regina's life but gladly taking what she could get, and entered the room, where Regina still sat on the armchair, still curled up in herself, and Anna still kneeled beside her, still trying to get through to the clearly shaken girl.

"Is everything okay?" Liana asked carefully, her eyebrows raised up to her hairline as she was trying to take in and understand the situation.

"No," Anna sighed, more than just slightly unnerved, and barely even looked at the other woman before she turned back to the younger brunette, "Regina, stop it! You're already in enough trouble so don't make it any worse."

There was no response from the child.

"Would you mind me trying?" Liana offered and the resigned sigh she got as a response was more than enough for the young woman to know that Anna didn't mind. So she, too, addressed the young girl, who buried her face between her knees, in a tentative voice, "Regina?"

The child didn't move but Liana had expected as much so she simple bent down, kneeled at the side of the armchair and continued, "Look, sweetie, your mother is gone; it's just you, me and Anna for now. So if you want to tell us what's going on, we would be more than happy to help."

"She bewitched me!" Regina let out with a teary yet angry and frightened voice.

Confused, Liana turned to Anna, her eyebrows knitted, her eyes wandering back and forth between the upset child and the redheaded maid, silently begging her to make sense.

"She had her first moonsblood and she is convinced that it is something Cora did to her with her magic," the other woman explained, rather annoyed and impatient. It took a lot for Liana not to burst out into a far too loud laughter because, despite the seriousness and awkwardness of the situation and the late hour, the child's imagination was just hilarious. She did manage to stifle the laughter to a faint titter, however, before she turned back to Regina, her face still lightened up in bright smile.

"Oh, sweetie," she mused, caressed the girl's shin and began to explain, "You couldn't be more wrong. Moonsblood doesn't have anything to do with your mother's magic – or any magic at all –, only with growing up and becoming a woman. Every woman gets it at some point in her life and every month from there on. Anna has it, Dor has it, and I have it, too. And I can assure you, while it's not the most pleasant thing in the world, it's something completely natural, necessary even."

Regina's head snapped up and brown eyes, wide with curiosity and disbelief as if she couldn't believe Liana's words to be true but desperately wanted them to be, locked on blue ones. The young woman smiled sympathetically while Anna locked forth and back between the two brunettes, lips parted in astonishment.

"Necessary?" Regina queried as if such an idea just didn't fit into her belief system and Liana's smile widened. Encouragingly, she nodded, waiting for the child to continue asking – and she did, with childish naivety and curiosity, "How?"

Liana had always suspected that all those hours spent in Rumpelstiltskin's library would one day come in handy and now they did because now she knew how to answer such a question and she doubted that many other people could since female physiology wasn't a common interest these days.

"It's necessary to bear children," the young woman simply stated and waited for the child's eyes to widen further in astonishment and wonder before she continued, "You see, moonsblood signalizes that you aren't with child. Usually, your moonsblood returns around the same time in every moon's cycle, but when it doesn't, it means you're with child. The blood gathers around your womb and makes it receptive for a fertilized egg, but when no egg is fertilized, the blood isn't needed so your womb contracts and the blood comes loose and that's why you're bleeding."

Regina looked at her with eyes so comically wide, they almost seemed to fall out, and even Anna gaped at her in surprise of her knowledge, but neither of them seemed to truly comprehend what she was trying to explain. With a sigh and an amused chuckle, Liana asked, "You two have no idea what I'm talking about, right?"

The redhead honestly shook her head, while Regina simply continued to stare at her, trying to process all of the given information, before she wanted to know, "What's a fertilized egg?"

The brunette laughed out loud once because this was the last question she had expected but quickly gathered her composure and thought about the appropriate way to explain such a thing to a child of thirteen years of age.

"Well, your body produces eggs," she began, still not sure if Regina could follow "Tiny, weeny, little eggs, so small you will never even notice that they are there. But they are, and when you're with a man someday and you are married and share a bed, then…"

Liana faltered because she had no idea to which extend the young brunette was sexually educated and if she was even aware what would happen once she shared her bed with a man. Seeking help, she turned to Anna but the other woman only shrugged so Liana inquired from the child, "Do you know what it means to consummate the marriage?"

Regina shook her head, utterly unaware.

"Do you know what you and your future husband are supposed to do in bed?" Liana rephrased but the younger brunette shook her head once more.

The young woman sighed and massaged her forehead because this conversation just got a whole lot longer and more complicated as it was and actually, it was far too late and the previous day had been far too strenuous to be doing all of this.

"What are all those lessons for?" she wondered aloud but only noticed when Regina answered, "Reading and dancing and…oh, riding. Although Mother says I shall only learn how to ride like a lady." The young girl trailed off and Liana knew where her thoughts were going so she quickly continued, "But you have been told what all those meet and greets and tea parties you attend are for?"

Regina nodded sincerely. "To find a noble man, worthy of me, to be my husband."

That was an exact repetition of Cora's words, Liana knew, but didn't say anything about it; she just nodded in confirmation.

"Do you know what happens when you do find a worthy candidate?"

Once again, the young girl nodded, "I'm going to marry him."

"And after that?"

Now, the former princess shrugged and looked at Liana expectantly, waiting for an explanation.

"You'll have to consummate the marriage," the brunette replied, "That means you're going to have sex with your newly wed husband."

Liana hoped to whatever powers might work above that she didn't have to explain that any further and for once, her prayers were heard and Regina only nodded to signalize her understanding. The young woman let out her held breath with an inaudible sigh before she proceeded, "And having sex, can – it doesn't always necessarily but it can – lead to one of your eggs being fertilized by men's sperms."

The younger brunette frowned and Liana could almost see the wheels inside her head turning as she tried to process and comprehend everything that had been said. Then, with much more maturity and comprehension than Liana had expected, she asked, "And fertilized eggs lead to children?"

Liana nodded.

"And not fertilized eggs lead to moonsblood?"

Once more, the other brunette nodded, impressed how quickly Regina had been able to understand what had taken herself weeks of repeatedly studying the same book.

"So, no magic involved?"

Liana shook her head in the negative and, just to confirm it, stated determinedly, "No magic involved."

Regina nodded reassured and Liana let out an agitated sigh to release the tension that had built up inside her. Tired, she rested her head on the armchair, ready to fall asleep within the next couple of seconds, when Anna said, "Well, now that that's settled, it's time to get you cleaned up."

Both Regina and Liana let out an unnerved sigh that caused the redheaded maid to chuckle before she turned to the other woman and assured, "I think I've got it from here. If you want to, you can go to bed now."

Liana was grateful for the offer but once she saw the little girl's pout, she assumed the younger brunette disagreed with that idea and, despite her tiredness and exhaustion, prompted, "If you don't mind, I would like to help."

The two women exchanged a look of worry – the silent question if Cora would agree with Liana's intrusion into Regina's life and if it was worth her anger – but then, Anna nodded once in acknowledgement and the way she did, told Liana that the redhead understood that this was as much about Regina as it was about herself. The young woman had wanted to be close to Regina ever since the child had been born and Anna knew that – most of the times, she had been there to witness Liana's attempts to become a part of Regina's life only to be stopped by Cora time and again –; she was the last person to deny Liana such a chance.

"I don't mind," Regina barged into the silent conversation between the two women, utterly unaware as to why they had become so solemnly quiet all of a sudden.

Both maids laughed and got up from their knees – and it were moments like those, Liana painfully realized that she was far older than the twentyish years that she looked – while Regina practically jumped from the armchair, landed on her feet and tugged both women at their sleeves to drag them to the bathroom across the hall. It was amazing, Liana thought to herself, how fast the child's mood could change from angry, upset and downright depressed in one moment to excited and happy the next.

 _Refreshing_ , she mused, at least when the mood swing went in that direction; and it definitely made up for the previous minutes of frustration and awkwardness.

"You do realize that the water will be cold by now," Liana reminded the former princess, who, in her eyes, still was one, and got an elbow to her rips in response from Anna.

"I don't mind," the child repeated and let go of the two women to open the heavy oak bathroom door.

"I'll make sure to remind you of that when it's bath time tomorrow morning," Anna retorted and although the words were somewhat scolding, her tone was light and Regina simply brushed it off with a shrug, either way.

Without asking for help or demanding either of the two maids to do it for her, the young girl lifted on of the wooden buckets, filled the water into the copper tub and did the same with a second bucket. Then, she undid her hair, let her long, brown locks fall loosely upon her back and took off her nightgown and her shift. When she stood before the two women, completely bare and seemingly without a care in the world, Liana tried to dispel the tingling feeling in her gut and her core with a shake of her head and a gulp.

Where did that come from? Just mere minutes before, Regina was nothing more than a child afraid of her first moonsblood and Liana was trying to soothe her and now, she could think of the young girl in a romantic way?

Wait, could she, she faltered and wrinkled her brows. By all means, she couldn't be considered an expert in such matters as despite her long life she had never felt such stirrings before. The closest she had ever gotten to anything like it was with the miller's son a long time ago but they were only childhood friends betrothed by their parents but not thinking of love and companionship themselves. Besides, Regina was only thirteen years and merely a child when it came to physical and emotional attraction no matter how rapidly growing her body was. And then, of course, she was servant and it wasn't her place to admire the body of her employer's daughter even though she couldn't deny a slight attraction towards the former princess – which she would never act upon because it was not her place and even if it were, Regina deserved better than a hundred thirty year old servant.

All of those thoughts swirled through her mind even before Regina had lowered herself into the tub and Liana couldn't shake them so she turned away from the nude girl and took a deep breath.

This was madness, she chastised herself, completely deranged and irresistible madness. But she had never been one to turn away from such – otherwise, she would have probably never taken the deal with the Dark One in the first place – so she cast a glance across her shoulder at Regina and watched as the girl sponged herself clean off any debris of blood her first moonsblood had left between her thighs. Again, her stomach rolled over and her core clenched and again, she gulped because she knew this was as wrong as it could ever be but she wanted it and she couldn't help it.

This would certainly get her into trouble, Liana knew, and she should try to get rid of those feelings, stirrings, whatever, before Cora could catch onto them but right now, the young woman just didn't care.

Once Regina was all cleaned up and stepped out of the bathtub, Anna handed her a new shift and nightgown so the young girl could redress herself before both women showed her how to wear some old scraps of cloth around her sex to prevent the blood from staining her nightwear and dresses. Then, Liana and Anna led the child to the doors of her mother's chambers and knocked. When Cora opened and nodded her daughter inside, Liana wanted to follow but a determined glare from the regal woman and a hand on her shoulder from the other maid kept her from it. The doors closed and Liana swallowed hard.

"Go to bed. You've done enough for today," the redhead reassured with a slight squeeze to the brunette's shoulder.

"You just want to keep me from getting into trouble with Cora again," the young woman bantered with a grin that didn't reach her eyes.

"Yes. That's not a bad thing, you know?"

"I know," Liana acknowledged with a deep sigh, "But Regina shouldn't be in there, either."

"You have taken quite a shine to her, haven't you?"

The other woman nodded and, remembering the tingling feeling in her gut and her core, had to admit to herself that it was far more than a shine she had taken to the young girl.

"Don't worry, your secret's safe with me," Anna assured and gave her a pointed look that told Liana the redhead had noticed the longing looks the brunette had thrown at Regina in the bathroom. She gulped because she wasn't sure anyone should know but she trusted Anna the same way she had trusted the other seamstresses back in the tailor shop – they were in the same situation, united by their mutual dislike for Cora and their shared concern for Regina.

Liana nodded her thanks and then turned around to head off to her quarter she shared with Anna and Dor, who was still Lord Henry's personal maid, when the redhead asked, "Hey, you do know all that stuff about moonsblood, by the way?"

"Read about it," the other woman simply replied without facing Anna and disappeared behind her doors. No one, except for Cora, knew about her long services at the Dark Castle – even though she had mentioned it to Dor on her first day of work in Kind Xavier's castle – and she wasn't about to tell anyone about it since being associated with the Dark One wasn't a very good thing.

Dor was already sound asleep and Liana was grateful for it because she was too exhausted for another chat. She simply fell onto her bed, buried herself beneath a warm quilt and a pillow and for once, had no trouble falling asleep.

* * *

So, Liana's aware of her feelings for Regina... Do you think this will change anything for the two of them? I would be glad to know your thoughts on this.

The next chapter will still be about Regina's childhood and remember, this fic is based on canon so we still have a long way to go, I'm not finished by a long shot. There are still so many things that have to occur, Daniel, for example...

Stay around and have a nice time out there.


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